The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

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. Ketti 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.)

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