PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

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?