The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

a) for an action which lasted for some time in the past before another past action.

e.g. When we arrived, he had been sleeping for 2 hours.

b) for an action which lasted for some time in the past and whose result was visible in the past.

e.g. Last Friday Ron had to fly to New York. His flight was delayed. He was annoyed. He had been waiting at the airport for three hours (He waited at the airport for three hours and

the result of the action was visible in the past, too)

Note: The past perfect continuous is the past equivalent of the present perfect continuous.

e g a) I had been driving for ten hours, so I felt exhausted (The action — had been driving — lasted for some time in the past The result —felt exhausted— was also visible in the past)

b) I have been driving for ten hours, so I feel exhausted (The action —have been driving — started in the past. The result —feel exhausted — is still visible in the present)

The past perfect continuous is used with the following time expressions: for, since, how long, before, until, etc.

Ex 1

Read and translate the sentences. Comment on the use of the past Perfect Progressive.

1. Later that afternoon, Derek put down the script he had been reading. 2. That evening Diana called me from London, and I told her what I'd been doing all day. 3. Emma, who had been listening attentively, knew with absolute certainty that he was speaking the truth. 4. Katy looked at Sue and knew that she had been weeping. 5. Catherine, who had been looking at her mother intently, now spoke in a concerned voice. 6. It just happened so that she knew what her son had been doing. He had been courting her personal clients in an effort to take them over himself. But it wouldn't work as long as she was head of the company. 7. Andrew, who is English, had been living in New York for seven years when we met. We had been seeing each other for only two months when he asked me to marry him. 8. I had been hearing and reading about the Vatican for so long that I was genuinely keen to see it.

Ex. 2

Complete these sentences using one of the following. Use the Past Perfect Continuous. (You will need to use a negative verb form in some cases.)

Pay/bills stay/friends smoke/cigar try/to steal/car attend/classes

Cycle/quite fast

1. She returned to the house where she ………. 2. Sue ……… until she reached the hill. 3. By the smell in the room and his guilty expression I could tell that Alex ………. 4. The principal called Carmen into his office because she ………. 5. I had to give Peter some money when I found out that he ………. 6. He told the police that he ………. He said he thought it belonged to his brother.

Ex. 3

Read the story.

On Tuesday afternoon, everyone in my family was very busy - except me. During the afternoon Helen repaired her car; John practised his karate: Kate did some gardening; Stephanie played tennis: Roger swam for half an hour: Pam went horse-riding; Philip painted the ceiling in his room light blue. I spent the afternoon sitting reading.

Now answer the questions.

1 Who had black grease on her hands at teatime? Why?

2 Who had dirt on her hands and knees? Why?

3 Who was wearing a short white skirt? Why?

4 Who was wearing a white jacket and trousers and a black belt? Why?

5 Who was wearing high boots and a hard hat? Why?

6 Whose hair had light blue streaks in it? Why?

7 Whose hair was all wet? Why?

Ex. 4

In a murder investigation, some suspects were asked by police what they had been doing at eight o'clock the previous evening. They all told lies. Write sentences to explain what they told the police they had been doing, and what they had actually been doing.

Example: Mrs Oliver told the police that she had been reading but in fact she had been watching her neighbours through the binoculars.

NAME	TOLD POLICE HAD BEEN DOING	TRUTH
Mrs Oliver	reading	watching neighbours through binoculars
Mr Lucas	watching TV	stealing cars
Mrs Allen	talking on the phone	making a bomb
Mr Nash	washing clothes	forging £5 notes
Alice	playing cards	selling drugs
Pete	studying chemistry	fighting
Aunt Jane	writing letters	planning a bank robbery
Miss Fry	washing her hair	out dancing with her sister's boyfriend
Rob	painting his flat	playing roulette

Ex. 5

Choose the Past Perfect Continuous form of the verb if appropriate. If not, use the Past Perfect.

1. Andrew died last week. He (to suffer) from cancer for some time. 2. I (to see) the view many times before, but it never failed to impress me. 3. The opposing sides in the war (to fight) since the president was overthrown. 4. I (to know) Megan since we were at school together. 5. For years we (to talk) about buying new carpets, and last weekend we finally went out and ordered some. 6. My car was once again in the garage for repairs. This was the third time it (to break down) since I got it. 7. Before now we (always to agree) on where to go on holiday.

2. When Nikita finally reached the club, his friends Olga and Oleg were already waiting for him near the entrance. Nikita said he was sorry he was late and asked how long they (be) there. They explained that they (wait) for about thirty minutes and in their turn asked him where he (be). Nikita said he (finish) a pot in his Pottery class, and it (take) him a really long time to clean up. Olga was greatly surprised and asked how long he (take) a class in pottery, as he never (mention) it before. Nikita said he (register) some time before he needed a break from his classes. He never (try) do anything creative before and he (have) a really time. He admitted that since he (start) it, he all his free time in workshop. He also (run) around the antique stores, though he not (go out) much with hi friends recently. His friends said they were sure u was just the beginning and soon things (get back) t0 normal.

Ex. 6

Translate into English.

1. Она подошла к двери, чтобы поприветствовать сво­его адвоката, которого она ждала (to expect). 2. На­конец-то он высказал идею, которую прокручивал в голове в последнее время. 3. Молодой человек поднялся со ступенек, на которых сидел, и вошел в дом. 4. Художник внимательно рассматривал картину, ко­торую рисовал уже несколько недель. 5. Он беспо­коился о своей жене. В последнее время она посе­щала (to see) психоаналитика, пытаясь выяснить причину своей депрессии. 6. Все уважали президента фирмы. Он управлял (to run) этой фирмой много лет. 7. Наконец наступил момент, которого он ждал всю жизнь. 8. Она повесила в шкаф платье, которое толь­ко что примеряла. Оно было слишком ярким. 9. В доме замечательно пахло. Бабушка с утра варила клубничное варенье. 10. Рабочие попросили нас ни к чему не прислоняться, так как они только что кра­сили стены. 11. Когда я вошел в комнату, все за­молчали, и я понял, что они говорили обо мне. 12. Наш шеф вошел в офис и пожаловался, что со­бака сжевала доклад, над которым он работал все выходные.

Ex. 7

Answer these questions giving your reasons.

1. What had Bill been living on for three months before his uncle in Canada left him money? 2. How long had Jack been talking over the telephone when he realized he was a wrong number? 3. What had they been discussing for a few minutes before they started off? 4. How long had Martha been working as a public accountant before she earned the title of a CPA? 5. How had all car companies in Britain been doing between 1980 and 1988 when productivity rose up by 6.8% a year? 6. How long had big car companies been finding ways from the crisis in the late 1980s when they came to a conclusion to take small car companies over? 7. The company of Ferrari had been suffering losses for five years before Fiat took it over, hadn’t it? 8. How long had Fred Gilmore been working for ACME Bicycle before he was appointed its President? 9. What duties had he been performing for the company for the period when he was working as its Financial Director? 10. How long had Anne Armstrong been serving as Counselor to President Nixon before she was appointed Ambassador to Great Britain in 1976? 11. How long had Jan E. Matzeliger been making the first shoe-lasting machine before it started working properly? 12. How had your father been working for the previous five years before he reached a middle-management position? 13. How long had Kate been waiting when the bus came?

Ex. 8

Can you explain the difference between these pairs of sentences?

1. a) When I last went to Moscow, they had renovated St Basil’s Cathedral.

b) When I last went to Moscow, they had been renovating St Basil’s Cathedral.

2. a) Although she tried to hide her face, I could see that Clara was crying.

b) Although she tried to hide her face, I could see that Clara had been crying.

3. a) When they got to their dacha, they discovered that water was leaking through the roof.

b) When they got to their dacha, they discovered that water had been leaking through the roof. There were pools on the floor.

4. a) By the smell in the room and his guilty expression I could tell that Stephen had been smoking.

b) Yesterday he was caught red-handed. When I came in, he was smoking.

5. a) When Denny joined in the conversation, they were discussing the latest events in the Balkans.

b) Everybody looked unhappy. They had been discussing the Concorde's crash.

Ex. 9

Translate these sentences into English using the Past Perfect Continuous.

А.

1. В своєму останньому листі моя подруга написала, що з вересня вона займається на курсах водіїв. Я знала, що останніх три роки вона мріяла навчитися водити автомобіль. 2. На сніданок Діана вийшла з червоними очима, і Чарльз знав, що вона вночі знову плакала. 3. Том розумів, як важко кинути курити, тому що він сам курив уже 15 років. 4. Коли Боб прилетів в Непал, його команда уже цілий тиждень піднімалась по західному схилу Евересту. 5. Вчора Річард повернувся додому дуже стомлений, так як йому треба було виконати термінове завдання, і він працював весь день без відпочинку. 6. Скільки років твій батько працював радником до того, як він пішов у відставку? 7. Коли я нарешті з’явився в приймальні, секретар боса сказала, що він розлючений. Недивно, адже він чекав мене майже півгодини! 8. Сем сподівався, що його не скоротять, і працював останніх три місяці дуже старанно. 9. Компанія „Лего” 17 років випускала дерев’яні іграшки до того, як в 1950 році вона перейшла на випуск будівельних кубиків з пластмаси.

В.

1. Він підняв голову від напівхолодної чашки кави, яку він все помішував, але не пив. 2. Том ніяк не хотів, щоб його мати знала, що ми весь цей час робили. 3. Вона бачила по їх мокрим костюмам, що вони щойно плавали. 4. Люди, яких вона зустрічала, здавалось, знали, де вона була і що вона там робила. 5. Вона подивилась на Берту, яка м’яла папір, на якому хтось перед цим пробував свою ручку. 6. Коли він повернувся, ми постарались зробити вигляд, що ми говорили не про нього. 7. Макс підняв книжку, яку він перед цим читав, і загнув кутик сторінки, щоб відмітити місце. 8. Я сиділа на кухні і курила. Флора, яка гралася у вітальні, прийшла подивитись, що я роблю.

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