Past Perfect Continuous Tense

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Verbs have different forms, called tenses. The tense of a verb tells us when the action happens.

Forms of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

had been + present participle

Example:

I had been working at the hospital for two years when the trouble started.

Contraction (short form)

I had been	I’d been
You had been	You’d been
She had been	She’d been
He had been	He’d been
They had been	They’d been
We had been	We’d been
It had been	It’d been

Example:

I’d been working at the hospital for two years when the trouble started.

When do we use the past perfect continuous tense?

The past perfect continuous is similar to the past perfect, except that it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past.

Examples:

She had been waiting for nearly an hour when the bus finally arrived.

He had been working at the bank for a year before he left for the United States.

Videos

Past Perfect Progressive or Past Perfect Continuous Past Continuous vs Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous - English Tenses