We use the past perfect progressive tense (also called the past perfect continuous tense) to express an action that started and was in progress during a period of time in the past.
Form: subject + had been + verb-ing
- I had been eating vegetables since 2012.
- She had been studying for the exam for three months.
- It had been raining all day.
- We had been waiting for half an hour when the train arrived.
We can also use this tense to show the cause of a past situation.
- I was very tired because I had been working for 16 hours straight.
- Everywhere was wet because it had been raining.
| Positive | Negative | Question |
| I had been playing. | I had not been playing. | Had I been playing? |
| You had been running. | You had not been running. | Had you been running? |
| He had been walking. | He had not been walking. | Had he been walking? |
| She had been working. | She had not been working. | Had she been working? |
| It had been eating. | It had not been eating. | Had it been eating? |
| We had been watching. | We had not been watching. | Had we been watching? |
| They had been waiting. | They had not been waiting. | Had they been waiting? |
We can use question words (who, what, when, where, why, how) before the helping verb “had” in interrogative sentences.
- How had I been playing?
- Why had you been running?
- Where had she been working?
- When had they been waiting?
Short answers in past perfect progressive tenses
- Had you been using the same car since 2006? — Yes, I had. [We cannot use any contraction in positive answers] – No. I hadn’t.
- Had she been waiting for me? — Yes, she had. – No, she hadn’t
Contractions in the past perfect progressive tenses
| Positive | Negative |
| I‘d been playing. | I hadn’t been playing. |
| You‘d been running. | You hadn’t been running. |
| He‘d been walking. | He hadn’t been walking. |
| She‘d been working. | She hadn’t been working. |
| It‘d been eating. | It hadn’t been eating. |
| We‘d been watching. | We hadn’t been watching. |
| They‘d been waiting. | They hadn’t been waiting. |
We cannot use stative verbs in the past perfect continuous tense in English.
- ✓ I had needed a new car. ꭗ I had been needing a new car.
- ✓ You had liked this book. ꭗ You had been liking this book.
- ✓ He had loved his job. ꭗ He had been loving his job.
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