Past Perfect Continous

The past perfect continuous in English corresponds in Spanish to using the indicative of the verb "estar" and the verb+ing. In general, we use it for actions in the process of being performed in the past before another action occurred.

Form

STRUCTURE

Subject + “had” + “been” + verbo+ing…

• I had been studying English for 2 years when I went to London.
• Lindsay had been working at the store since 2005 when it closed.
• They were surprised when the airline lost their baggage as they had [they’d] been traveling for weeks without a problem.

STRUCTURE

Subject + “had” + “not” + “been” + verbo+ing…

• I had not been studying English long when I went to London.
• Lindsay had not been working at the store for long when it closed.
• They had not been traveling long before they had their first problem.

STRUCTURE

“Had” + subject + “been” + verbo+ing?

• Had you been studying English for a long time before you went to London?
• Had Lindsay been working at the store for a long time when it closed?
• Had they been traveling for a long time when the airline lost their luggage?

USES

1. We use the past perfect continuous to refer to something we had been doing (in process) when another action interrupted it.

EXAMPLES

• I’d been working for hours when I fell asleep at my desk.
• Frank bought a new car. He’d been looking for one since last year.
• We’d been arguing for days when Elizabeth found a resolution.

2. It is used to demonstrate cause and effect in the past.

EXAMPLES

• She was tired because she’d been working too much.
• They were angry because they’d been waiting for me for hours.