Past Perfect Simple and Continous
Past Perfect Simple and Continous
Past Perfect Simple and Continous
We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in
the past. However, the duration does not continue until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:
• They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
• She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
• How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
• Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
• James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.
• A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.
D. Put the verbs in the past simple, past perfect, or past perfect continuous.
1 I _________________ (swim) for an hour when I _________________ (see) the island.
2 He _________________ (try) to explain why he __________________ (miss) the train but she didn’t want to listen.
3 I didn’t see him. He ....__________________(leave) already when I ________________(arrive).
4 We __________________ (wait) for half an hour when they finally _________________(come).
5 She _______________ (play) football and was out of breath when I __________________ (see) her.