Past perfect continuous

On this page you can choose to read, listen, or practise the past perfect continuous. First you will see the written part, followed by a photo. Then there is a video which is followed by exercises. It is up to you what you prefer to use. 

The past perfect continuous tense, also known as past perfect progressive tense, shows that an action that started in the past ended at another time in the past. 

The past perfect continuous is formed by: had been + present participle (onvoltooid deelwoord)

Positive examples:

• You had been waiting there for more than half an hour when they finally arrived.
• They had been watching the commercials for a while when the tv show finally started.
• He had been sleeping for hours when his alarm went off.

To make a sentence negative, you form it by: subject + had + not + present participle

Negative examples:

• You had not been waiting there for more than half an hour when they finally arrived.
• They had not been watching the commercials for a while when the tv show finally started.
• He had not been sleeping for hours when his alarm went off.

To make a question, you form it by: had + subject + present participle

Question examples:

• Had you been waiting there for more than half an hour when they finally arrived?
• Had they been watching the commercials for a while when the tv show finally started?
• Had he been sleeping for hours when his alarm went off?