Course on the Past Perfect Continuous - TOEIC® Preparation

The past perfect continuous is a tense that expresses an action that was ongoing before a specific moment in the past. For example: I had been studying for two hours before having dinner.

Unlike the past perfect simple, which emphasizes the result, the past perfect continuous highlights the duration or the progression of the action.

How to form the past perfect continuous?

The past perfect continuous is constructed with the auxiliary had been followed by the verb in the -ing form.

• The auxiliary had been remains invariable for all persons.
• The main verb always takes the -ing form, regardless of the subject.
• The past perfect continuous is simply the past form of the present perfect continuous.

When to use the past perfect continuous?

The past perfect continuous to emphasize the duration of an activity before a specific point in the past

The past perfect continuous emphasizes the duration or the continuity of an action that was ongoing before a past event.

It allows you to show precisely how long the action had lasted at the moment the second event occurred.

• They had been waiting for over an hour before the concert started.
  Here, the expression "had been waiting for over an hour" indicates they had been waiting for more than an hour when the concert began.

In practice, we often use duration markers or starting points like for or since to specify the period:

• They had been practicing for three days before they gave their first show.
• I had been studying since 5 p.m. before I finally took a break.

In these examples, the emphasis is on the duration of the action rather than its simple conclusion or the event that followed it.

The past perfect continuous to explain that an action took place over a determined period before another past moment

The past perfect continuous indicates that an action took place over a certain period before a second event occurred, marking the end or a transition.

The emphasis is on the total duration of the first action, which ends before or at the moment of the second past event.

• I had been living in London for five years before I moved to Manchester.
  "had been living in London for five years" highlights that the person had already been living in London for five years before moving to Manchester.

We frequently use duration markers like for to specify the elapsed period:

• He had been working at the company for six months before he decided to quit.
• We had been training for three hours before the coach asked us to stop.

These structures clearly indicate the exact period during which the action took place before the appearance of a new past event.

The past perfect continuous to describe an action that was ongoing at a specific moment in the past

The past perfect continuous is used to indicate that an activity was already ongoing at a specific moment in the past. It emphasizes the state of progression of the action at the considered moment.

• At 7 p.m. yesterday, I had been studying for two hours already.
  Here, "had been studying for two hours" indicates that at 7 p.m., I had already been studying for two hours.

We generally use a specific time marker (like "at 7 p.m." or "at midnight") to indicate the moment when the action was ongoing. This construction highlights the progression and the duration of an activity up to a defined moment in the past.

The past perfect continuous is not used with stative verbs

Stative verbs (like know, like, love, believe, etc.) express a state or a feeling rather than an ongoing action. They are not used in the past perfect continuous, as this tense expresses the progression or duration of an action. In these cases, the past perfect simple is used instead:

• I had known him for a long time before we became friends.
  This example expresses a state — "knowing someone" — and not an ongoing action.

The list of stative verbs is available here:

• 🔗 List of stative verbs for the TOEIC®

Conclusion

The past perfect continuous is used to express an action that was ongoing before a specific moment in the past, emphasizing its duration and progression. It is constructed with had been + verb in -ing and is often accompanied by for or since to indicate the concerned period.

In the TOEIC®, this tense may appear in grammar questions and reading comprehension, particularly to express the duration of a past action or to establish a chronology of events.

We have written other courses on the perfect, which you can find here:

• 🔗 Course on the present perfect simple for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the present perfect continuous for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the difference between the present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the past perfect simple for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the past perfect continuous for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the difference between the past perfect and the past simple for the TOEIC®
• 🔗 Course on the difference between the past perfect simple and the past perfect continuous for the TOEIC®