English Tenses · Further practice · An activity leading up to a past point
Past Perfect Continuous – Learn & Practise
“I had been waiting.” “She hadn’t been sleeping well.” “How long had they been working?” Focus on duration before a later past event.
100 questions · 10 per round · No sign-in needed
1. What is Past Perfect Continuous?
Make the past perfect continuous with had + been + verb-ing. It describes an activity continuing for a period before another past event or time. The activity may have stopped shortly before that past point or may still have been in progress then.
Duration before another event
“I had been waiting for an hour when the bus arrived.”
Explaining a past condition
“She was tired because she had been working all day.”
A repeated earlier activity
“They had been practising every day before the interview.”
2. Choose the correct form
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Every subject | had been + verb-ing | I had been waiting. She had been waiting. They had been waiting. |
3. Positive, negative and question patterns
+ Positive
Subject + had + been + verb-ing
She had been studying before I called.
− Negative
Subject + had not + been + verb-ing
She hadn’t been studying before I called.
? Question
Had + subject + been + verb-ing?
Had she been studying before I called?
Use had been with every subject. Put not after had. Move had before the subject for a question. Keep been and the -ing form after the subject. Do not add did.
4. Contractions
I had been → I’d been
She had been → She’d been
We had been → We’d been
They had been → They’d been
had not been → hadn’t been
“He hadn’t been sleeping” means “He had not been sleeping”.
5. Questions and short answers
Yes/No questions
“Had you been waiting?” → “Yes, I had.” / “No, I hadn’t.”
“Had she been working?” → “Yes, she had.” / “No, she hadn’t.”
“Had they been studying?” → “Yes, they had.” / “No, they hadn’t.”
WH-questions
- How long had you been waiting when the bus arrived?
- What had she been doing before you called?
- Where had they been working before they moved?
- Why had he been running before the meeting?
6. Spelling and verb forms
Keep had been
Had and been do not change with the subject.
Use the -ing form
work → working; study → studying; make → making; write → writing.
Double some final consonants
run → running; sit → sitting; stop → stopping. Do not double w, x or y.
Other forms
lie → lying; British spelling: travel → travelling; practise → practising.
7. Time expressions and common mistakes
For an hour before… · since nine when… · all morning before… · how long…
Past Perfect or Past Perfect Continuous?
“She had written three emails before lunch” focuses on a completed amount. “She had been writing for an hour before lunch” focuses on the activity and duration; it does not say how many emails she completed.
Both forms can sometimes describe a continuing earlier situation. Choose according to the meaning you want to emphasise, not just the presence of for or since.
For and since
“They had been waiting for an hour when the bus arrived.” “They had been waiting since nine when the bus arrived at ten.” For gives the duration; since gives the starting point.
State verbs
Use the simple perfect with know: “I had known her for years before we worked together”, not “I had been knowing her”.
- “I had been wait.” → I had been waiting.
- “She had studying.” → She had been studying.
- “They had been worked.” → They had been working.
- “Did you had been waiting?” → Had you been waiting?
- “How long they had been working?” → How long had they been working?
Audio uses your device’s English (UK) voice when available. No sound plays automatically.
8. Your practice space
Choose an activity. Each round has 10 questions. Type answers, choose an option or build a sentence. Read the feedback before moving on.
Full forms and standard contractions are accepted. Capital letters and final punctuation do not affect your score. Each answer is checked once per round; you can practise missed questions afterwards.
The final assessment draws from the practice bank. It is a learning check, not a qualification test.
Your round
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10. Print and practise
Use these questions for classwork or homework. The print version includes 20 questions followed by the answer key on a separate page. Use your print settings to save as PDF if you prefer.
View worksheet questions and answers
- Use past perfect continuous: I ___ for twenty minutes when the bus arrived. (wait)
Answer: had been waiting - Use past perfect continuous: We ___ all morning when the power failed. (work)
Answer: had been working - Use past perfect continuous: You ___ for weeks before the interview. (practise)
Answer: had been practising - Use past perfect continuous: We ___ the event for months before it was cancelled. (plan)
Answer: had been planning - Use past perfect continuous: They ___ all night when they reached London. (travel)
Answer: had been travelling - Complete the past perfect continuous negative: I ___ for twenty minutes when the bus arrived. (wait)
Answer: had not been waiting - Complete the past perfect continuous negative: He ___ for a job for months before he found one. (look)
Answer: had not been looking - Complete the past perfect continuous negative: My children ___ outside for an hour when it started raining. (play)
Answer: had not been playing - Complete the past perfect continuous negative: We ___ the event for months before it was cancelled. (plan)
Answer: had not been planning - Complete the past perfect continuous negative: The students ___ for half an hour when the tutor returned. (read)
Answer: had not been reading - Complete the question: ___ I been waiting for twenty minutes when the bus arrived?
Answer: Had - Complete the question: ___ he been looking for a job for months before he found one?
Answer: Had - Complete the question: ___ the nurse been helping patients all morning before her break?
Answer: Had - Build a past perfect continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: cancelled / was / it / before / months / for / event / the / planning / been / we / Had
Answer: Had we been planning the event for months before it was cancelled? - Build a past perfect continuous question. Use all the words.
Words: trolley / a / found / we / before / hour / an / for / bags / the / carrying / been / you / Had
Answer: Had you been carrying the bags for an hour before we found a trolley? - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: I had been waiting for twenty minutes when the bus arrived.
Answer: I had not been waiting for twenty minutes when the bus arrived. - Make this negative. Keep the same subject and details: They had been cleaning for an hour when we arrived.
Answer: They had not been cleaning for an hour when we arrived. - Make a yes/no question. Keep the same subject and details: He had been repairing the car for two hours when I saw him.
Answer: Had he been repairing the car for two hours when I saw him? - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: They had been worked all morning before lunch.
Answer: They had been working all morning before lunch. - Correct the mistake. Write the complete sentence: He hadn’t been slept before the phone rang.
Answer: He had not been sleeping before the phone rang.
Keep practising
Try another activity, revisit a rule or use a grammar video to support your learning.
ESOLish · Past Perfect Continuous
Name: ____________________ Date: ______________
Write your answers. Keep the same subject when changing sentences. Full forms and contractions are both correct.
Past Perfect Continuous · Answer key
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