Perfect Continuous times are mainly used to describe the process of action until a specific designated event or for a specified period of time. In practice, colloquially, these times are quite rare.
The past long perfect time is translated into English as past perfect continuous (past perfect continuum). Rules, examples and tables will help to understand the cases of using this complex temporary form.
The formation of the past perfect long time
- Affirmative form. The forming word for this tense is to be in Past Perfect (had been) + participle with -ing ending (i.e. present participle). They had been dancing.
- Negative. When denied, the particle not is placed after the auxiliary verb to have in the past tense (had). We had not been dancing.
- Interrogative. In the formation of the question, the auxiliary verb had had the place at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject. Had I been dancing?
- Interrogative negative. In this case, the particle not follows the subject. Had I not been dancing flamenco?
Similar constructions are most often translated into Russian with the word “unless”: “Didn't I dance flamenco?”
Eating past perfect continuous: suggestion examples
In order to focus on the process of the event, which lasted until some point indicated by another elapsed time (mainly Past Indefinite) and continued after that, the construction is built in Past Perfect Continuous. Examples of sentences will illustrate this rule:
- I had been knitting for three hours when my mother returned home. - I knitted for three hours when my mother returned home. Another application of the past is a long perfect time: the process of an action ended immediately before an event indicated by another time in the past (usually this is a simple past (Past Simple), less often past a long past (Past Continuous). The length of time may not be agreed upon.
- The day before yesterday I opened the window and looked out. Although the sky was bright and cloudless, it was chilly, the grass and foliage wer wet and there were puddles on the ground. It had been raining. - The day before yesterday I opened the window and looked out. Despite the fact that the sky was bright and cloudless, the grass and foliage were moist, it blew cool and in some places there were puddles on the ground. It was raining (before that). In one sentence, one could say this: Though the beams of the sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless, it was chilly, the ground was still wet as it had been raining (the day before). - Despite the fact that the sun's rays shone brightly on a cloudless sky, it was cool, and the earth still remained wet, since it rained the day before.
In any case, context is important for understanding that at the moment it is appropriate to build a phrase in past perfect continuous. Examples of sentences illustrate applications of this complex temporal form.
The difference from the past long time
A distinctive feature of this time form is the agreed period of time during which an event occurred or an action took place. If it weren’t like that, Past Continuous should be used.
Comparison of Past Continuous and Past Perfect Continuous, examples of sentences:
| if there is an indication of a specific period of time during which an event or action has occurred | if there is no indication regarding a specific time period |
It had been raining almost for six days when I left London.
At the time when I left London, it had been raining for almost six days. | It was raining when I left London.
When I left London, it was raining. |
She had been reading for five hours when I came home.
She read five hours when I got home. | She was reading when I came home.
She read when I got home. |
Verbs incompatible with Continuous
There are a number of verbs that do not apply in Continuous:
- Words denoting the perception of the senses: hear - in the meaning of "distinguish by ear", see - see, understand; smell - have a smell, smell; taste - have a certain taste. But these verbs, when used in the form of a long time, take a different meaning: hear - hear something, get some news; see - meet, see someone, watch; smell - smell, smell; taste - taste.
- Words denoting thought processes: think - consider, believe (but thinking can mean “think”); consider - to consider; feel - to have an opinion; believe - believe, trust; notice (smth. or smb.) - notice (someone or something); understand - understand, understand; know - to know.
- Attitude, possession: be - to be; owe - to be obliged, obligated; own - possess, possess; depend - to depend.
If one of the above words occurs, then Perfect Continuous should be replaced with Perfect.
Although I had known them almost for two years, I was disappointed. “Although I had known them for almost two years, I was disappointed.”
They had been in London for a few days when I called. - They were in London for several days when I called.
To bring to automaticity the use of this form in colloquial speech or when writing essays, you need to independently compose all kinds of options and examples of sentences. Past perfect continuous is a pretty simple topic to understand. However, at the beginning of learning English, there may be difficulties associated with the fact that in Russian there are no such times.