Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Definition, Rules, Uses With Examples

Past Perfect Continuous Tense: The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is a verb form that began in the past and continues in another past. This tense is also called Past Perfect Progressive Tense. The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is formed, Subject + had + been + present participle (verb + ing)+ the rest of the sentence. Since it refers to an action or event that had been progressing until a certain point in the past.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, Past Perfect Continuous tense is defined as a tense form used to indicate “an action or a situation that continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past.” 

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the past perfect continuous tense is defined as a tense that refers to “actions or events which started before a particular time in the past and were still in progress up to that time in the past.”

Structure of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Example of Past Perfect Continuous Tense 

Some examples of Past Perfect Continuous tense are-

• He had been drinking milk out of the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen. (वह कार्टन में से दूध पी रहा था जब माँ रसोई में चली गई।)
• I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion. (मैं कंपनी में पांच साल से काम कर रहा था जब मुझे प्रमोशन मिला।)
• Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg. (अपना पैर तोड़ने से एक दिन पहले मार्था तीन मील चल रही थी।)
• The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.(जो कार्यक्रम समाप्त किया गया था वह 1945 से अच्छी तरह से काम कर रहा था।)
• Cathy had been playing the piano for 35 years when she was finally asked to do a solo with the local orchestra. (कैथी 35 वर्षों से पियानो बजा रही थी जब उसे अंततः स्थानीय ऑर्केस्ट्रा के साथ एकल करने के लिए कहा गया।)
• He had been throwing rocks at her window for five minutes before she finally came out on the balcony and said, “Hey, Romeo.” (वह पांच मिनट तक उसकी खिड़की पर पत्थर फेंक रहा था, इससे पहले कि वह आखिरकार बालकनी से बाहर आई और कहा, "अरे, रोमियो।")

Structure of Sentences of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense sentences can be in three forms, that is, Positive or Affirmative, Negative, and Interrogative sentences. Below is the structure of all three forms and examples to make you understand better.

Example of Positive/Affirmative Sentence-

• I had been writing articles on various for three hours. (मैं तीन घंटे से विभिन्न पर लेख लिख रहा था।)
• He had been reading different kinds of books since morning. (वह सुबह से तरह-तरह की किताबें पढ़ रहा था।)
• They had been playing football on that field before it started to rain. (बारिश शुरू होने से पहले वे उस मैदान पर फुटबॉल खेल रहे थे।)
• James had been gossiping in the coffee shop for two hours. (जेम्स कॉफी शॉप में दो घंटे से गपशप कर रहा था।)
• Tom had been traveling around the world since the month of December. (टॉम दिसंबर के महीने से दुनिया भर में घूम रहे थे।)

Example of Negative Sentence-

• They had not been playing football on that field before it started to rain. (बारिश शुरू होने से पहले वे उस मैदान पर फुटबॉल नहीं खेल रहे थे।)
• James had not been gossiping in the coffee shop for two hours. (जेम्स कॉफी शॉप में दो घंटे से गपशप नहीं कर रहा था।)
• Tom had not been traveling around the world since the month of December. (टॉम दिसंबर के महीने से दुनिया भर की यात्रा नहीं कर रहा था।)
• We had not been shopping in that shop before we came home. (घर आने से पहले हम उस दुकान में खरीदारी नहीं कर रहे थे।)

Example of Interrogative Sentence-

• Had they been playing football in that field in that field before it started to rain? (क्या वे बारिश शुरू होने से पहले उस मैदान में उस मैदान में फुटबॉल खेल रहे थे?)
• Had James been gossiping in the coffee shop for two hours? (क्या जेम्स कॉफी शॉप में दो घंटे से गपशप कर रहा था?)
• Had tom been traveling around the world since the month of December? (क्या टॉम दिसंबर के महीने से दुनिया भर में घूम रहा था?)
• Had we been shopping in that shop before we came home? (क्या हम घर आने से पहले उस दुकान में खरीदारी कर रहे थे?)

Tense Chart of Past Perfect Continuous Tense in Hindi

Example of “To buy” in Past Perfect Continuous Tense

So in nutshell, the structure of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense is as-

Contraction With Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Uses of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Some of the uses of Past Perfect Continuous Tense are

1. We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. (Duration before something in the past).
2. using the past perfect continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect. (Cause of something in the past).
3. To show an action that had been going on before another past action.

Examples of Uses of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Some examples of Past Perfect Continuous Tense are-

1. We use the past perfect continuous to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past. (Duration before something in the past).

For example-

• They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived. (टोनी के आने से पहले वे एक घंटे से अधिक समय तक बात कर रहे थे।)
• She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business. (वह उस कंपनी में तीन साल से काम कर रही थी जब उसका कारोबार बंद हो गया।)

2. Using the past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show cause and effect. (Cause of something in the past).

For example-

• Jason was tired because he had been jogging. (जेसन थक गया था क्योंकि वह जॉगिंग कर रहा था।)
• Sam gained weight because he had been overeating. (सैम ने वजन बढ़ाया क्योंकि वह ज्यादा खा रहा था।)
• Benny failed the final test because she had not been attending class. (बेनी अंतिम परीक्षा में असफल रही क्योंकि वह कक्षा में उपस्थित नहीं हो रही थी।)

3. To show an action that had been going on before another past action.  

For example-

• Tendulkar had been playing for two hours before he was run out.(तेंदुलकर रन आउट होने से पहले दो घंटे से खेल रहे थे।)
• He had been playing on the ground before it started raining. (बारिश शुरू होने से पहले वह मैदान पर खेल रहा था।)

Exercise1:  

Exercise2: