16. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (I had been doing) ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

16. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS (I had been doing)

A	Study this example situation: Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining, but the ground was very wet. It had been raining. It was not raining when I looked out of the window; the sun was shining. But it had been raining before. Had been -ing is the past perfect continuous: I/ we/ you/ they had (= I’d etc) been doing working playing etc. he/ she/ it (=he’d etc) Some more examples: ·         When the boys came into the house, their clothes were dirty, their hair was untidy and one of them had a black eye. They'd been fighting. ·         I was very tired when I got home. I'd been working hard all day. ·         When I went to Madrid a few years ago, I stayed with a friend of mine. She hadn't been living there very long, but she knew the city very well.
B	You can say that something had been happening for a period of time before something else happened: ·         We'd been playing tennis for about half an hour when it started to rain heavily. ·         Paul went to the doctor last Friday. He hadn't been feeling well for some time.
C		Compare have been -ing (present perfect continuous) and had been -ing (past perfect continuous): Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous ·         I hope the bus comes soon. I've been waiting for 20 minutes. (before now) ·         James is out of breath. He has been running.   ·         At last the bus came. I'd been waiting for 20 minutes. (before the bus came) ·         James was out of breath. He had been running.
D	Compare was -ing (past continuous) and had been -ing: ·         It wasn't raining when we went out. The sun was shining. But it had been raining, so the ground was wet. ·         Katherine was sitting in an armchair resting. She was tired because she'd been working very hard.
E	Some verbs {for example, know and like) are not normally used in the continuous: We were good friends. We had known each other for years. (not had been knowing) I was surprised when Lisa cut her hair. She'd had long hair since I first met her. (not she'd been having)

EXERCISES

16.1	Read the situations and make sentences from the words in brackets. 1 I was very tired when I arrived home. (I /work /hard all day) ___ I’d been working hard all day _______________ 2 The two boys came into the house. They had a football and they were both very tired. (they /play /football) _____________________________ 3 I was disappointed when I had to cancel my holiday. (I /look /forward to it) ___________________________________ 4 Ann woke up in the middle of the night. She was frightened and didn't know where she was. (she /dream)______________________________________ 5 When I got home, Mark was sitting in front of the TV. He had just turned it off. (he /watch /a film) ____________________________________
16.2	Read the situations and complete the sentences. 1 We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started t o rain. We ______had been playing for half an hour____ when _____it started to rain.______ 2 I had arranged to meet Tom in a restaurant. I arrived and waited for him. After 20 minutes I realised that I was in the wrong restaurant. I___________ for 20 minutes when I ____________________ the wrong restaurant. 3 Sarah got a job in factory. Five years later the factory closed down. At the time the factory _____________ Sarah _____________ there for five years. 4 I went to a concert last week. The orchestra began playing. After about ten minutes a man in the audience suddenly started shouting. The orchestra _______________ when __________________. 5 This time make your own sentence: I began walking along the road. I ________________________ when ____________________________.
16.3	Put the verb into the most suitable form, past continuous {I was doing)~ past perfect (I had done) or past perfect continuous (I had been doing). 1 It was very noisy next door. Our neighbours ____ were having ____(have) a party. 2 We were good friends ._____We’d had known. ___(we /know) each other for years. 3 John and I went for a walk. I had difficulty keeping up with him because _________ (he /walk) so fast. 4 Sue was sitting on the ground. She was out of breath. __________(she /run). 5 When I arrived everybody was sitting round the table with their mouths full. ___________ (they /eat). 6 When I arrived, everybody was sitting round the table and talking. Their mouths were empty, but their stomachs were full. ____________ (they /eat). 7 James was on his hands and knees on the floor. _______ (he /look) for his contact lens. 8 When I arrived, Kate _____________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I was late and ____________ .(she /wait) for a long time. 9 I was sad when I sold my car. ___________ (I /have) it for a very long time. 10 We were extremely tired at the end of the journey. ____________ (we /travel) for more than 24 hours

ANSWER KEY