Past Perfect Progressive

PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

Form:

(+) S+HAD+BEEN+V.ING+O

(-) S+HAD+NOT+BEEN+V.ING+O

(?) HAD+S+BEEN+V.ING+O??

1.      We use the past perfect  progressive when we talk about the continuity or duration of activity and to talk about the completion of a situation or activity or its effect.

Example:

I had been working hard, so i felt that i deserved a holiday.

2.      We use the  past prefect progressive  when we talk about  how long something went on up to a particular past time.

Example:

 I had always believed that it would be easy to get a job.

Complete List of Past Perfect Continuous Forms

·         USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past

We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.

Examples:

·         They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.

·         She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.

·         How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?

·         Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.

·         James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.

·         A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.

·         USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past

Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect.

Examples:

·         Jason was tired because he had been jogging.

·         Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.

·         Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

·         You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.

·         Had you only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

·         Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris. Active

·         The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris. Passive

Compare the use of the past perfect progressive and past progressive:

·         When we met simon and pat, they had been riding(we met after they had finished)

·         When  we met simon and pat, they were riding(we met while they were riding)

·         When i got home, water had been leaking through the roof(it was no longer leaking when i got there)

·         When i got home, water was leaking through the roof.(it was leaking when i got there)

How do make the past progressive tense??

S+Auxiliary verb had+Auxiliary verb been+main verb ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect progressive tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb.

Example:

(+) I had been work

(-) I had not been working

(?) had i been working??

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:

·         Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had beenwaiting for two hours.

·         John was very tired. He had been running

·         Had the pilot been drinking before the crash

·         I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking

·         Suddenly my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time

Definition:

The Past Perfect Progressive is used for actions that were unfinished when another action, etc, took place:

I had been living there for years before I got married.

 Some books use the term Past Perfect Progressive, and others use Past Perfect Continuous.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Murphy, Raymand. 1985. English Grammar Use. England: Erlangga

Martin, Hewings.  1999. Advanced Grammar in Use. England: Erlangga

http://www.english page.com/verbpage/pastperfectcontinous.html

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-perfect-progressive

http://tensesbahasainggris.com/past-perfect-continous-tense