USE: We use PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS to talk about the continuity or duration of a situation or activity which had been in progress up to the past time.
Example:
- We had been playing about half an hour when it started to rain very heavy.
- Jim had been drinking coffee for 20 years before he quitted it.
- I was very tired when I got home because I had been walking hard all day.
FORMULA
Positive Sentence:
| Subject + had + been + verb-ing + object/complement |
Example:
- I had been waiting for you for an hour.
- We had been playing soccer for three hours.
- They had been working hard today.
Negative Sentence:
| Sub + had + not + been + verb-ing + obj/comp |
Example:
- She had not been suffering from flu.
- They had not been working for two years
- I had not been expecting the news for some time.
Question:
| Had + sub + been + verb-ing + obj/comp ? |
Example:
- Had Jame been driving for five hours before his car broke down?
- Had you been sitting at the platform for an hour?
- Had they been dancing all night?
