When to use the past perfect and past perfect continuous?
You need to use the past perfect and past perfect continuous to describe actions that were completed before a certain point in the past.
Past Perfect is used to describe actions that were completed before other ones in the past.
Example: He had finished his work before he went to bed.
Past Perfect Continuous is used to describe actions that were ongoing before other ones in the past.
Example: He had been doing his homework for 4 hours before he went to bed.
*I explained each of the Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous individually, so feel free to check them or you can even click on any of the other types of the perfect tenses here
So, is it possible to use the past perfect and past perfect continuous in one sentence?
Definitely yes! Let’s have a look at the following examples to understand the idea much better:
Examples:
By the time they arrived, we had been waiting for an hour and had already decided to leave
I had been working on my project for 3 months before I had finally completed it.
How to form questions using the past perfect and past perfect continuous?
1)You need to start the question with (had) if the answer is about (yes/ no).
2)But if you need to provide a detailed answer, start the question with (wh-questions).
Examples:
Had they been living there long before they had decided to move?
Had you been waiting long when the train had finally arrived?
Had he been doing his homework before he had gone to bed?
How to form negative sentences using the past perfect and past perfect continuous?
You just need to add (not) after the auxiliary verb (had). Let’s have a look at the following examples to understand the idea much better:
Examples:
She hadn’t left the party when the band had been singing
They hadn’t been studying for hours before they had taken a break.
I hadn’t been talking about the issue before the meeting had started.
*You can use the complete form (have not/ has not) or the contraction form (haven’t/ hasn’t), it depends on the person you speak with. Professionally and in formal settings, use the complete form. When speaking informally with family, friends, chatting, etc use the contraction form.
I hope you find this English grammar lesson useful, let me know if you have any questions related to the combination of past perfect and past perfect continuous tenses or if you have any suggestions for the upcoming topics. Yesterday, I explained other English grammar topics here so feel free to check it 🙂 Also, if you need a private discussion or lessons, email me 🙂
Have a great day & take care!