Uses
1. For continuous actions happening until a certain time in the past.
When we use the Past Perfect Continuous, we are usually saying how long the action ‘had been happening’ for, before another past action occurred.
See the timeline below for a visual outline of how the Past Perfect Continuous is used:
Past Perfect Continuous – basic timeline
Although we generally say for how long the action last before another action, this is not always the true. For example:
- I had been hoping you would ask me.
- We had been thinking about moving when we saw this house for sale.
2. For repeated actions happening over a longer period.
The time period for how long the actions had been happening is also often given. For example:
- We had been calling the council for months to get it fixed.
- He had been visiting her in hospital for weeks.
Important aspects of using Past Perfect Continuous:
1. As with the Past Perfect Simple, contractions are very common.
For example:
- I’d been attending the classes with my friend.
- They’d been asking for people to help them for months.
2. As with all continuous tenses, we cannot use stative verbs.
For example:
I had been wanting to buy a new car for ages!⮽- I had wanted to buy a new car for ages! ✅