The Past Perfect Progressive

Verbing (Present Participle)

Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking
For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding,
ride > riding
For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying,
tie > tying
For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-
consonant and is stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex:
beg > begging, begin > beginning. However: enter > entering (last
syllable is not stressed)

To form the past perfect progressive, use the auxiliary (helping) verb had + been +
verbing (present participle).

Have/Has + Been +
Subject Rest of Sentence
Verbing

for two hours when he got up and

had been talking
left
I / You / We /
They
He / She / It
had been texting her long before they met

Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect

Progressive (Continuous)
Useful Tip

Time Expressions in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Use since with a specific hour, month, year or a period in the past > since
2002 / since Tuesday
 Use for with a number of hours, days, months or years > for twenty years

Use already between had and the verb > had already been flying

Use before, when and by the time before the past simple > when they saw the boys

When creating negative sentences, we use the auxiliary (helping) verb hadnt (had not) + been
+ the ing (present participle) form of the verb.

Auxiliary Been + Rest of

Subject
Verb Verbing Sentence

I / You / We /
hadnt (had when you
They been sleeping
not) arrived
He / She / It

Adjectives

Verbs

Nouns

Conjunctions

Pronouns

Adverb

Preposition

The Past Perfect Progressive

Tense
Spelling Tip

Verbing (Present Participle)

 Add ing to most verbs. Ex. play > playing, cry > crying, bark > barking

For verbs that end in e, remove the e and add ing. Ex: slide > sliding, ride >
riding

For verbs that end in ie, change the ie to y and add ing. Ex: die > dying, tie
> tying

For a verb whose last syllable is written with a consonant-vowel-consonant

and is stressed, double the last letter before adding ing. Ex: beg > begging, begin
> beginning. However: enter > entering (last syllable is not stressed)

The past perfect progressive (continuous) is used to describe an action that started in the past
and was still in progress when a second action started. Both actions began and ended in the
past. As in the past perfect simple, the sentence has two parts:

1. The past perfect progressive, to refer to the action that was in process

2. The past simple to refer to the action that happened after the first action

1. Ben had been working for three hours when Rachel came home.

2. By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for ten minutes.

To form the past perfect progressive, use the auxiliary (helping) verb had + been + verbing
(present participle).

Have/Has + Been +
Subject Rest of Sentence
Verbing

for two hours when he got up

had been talking
I / You / We / and left
They
He / She / It
had been texting her long before they met

Note: The order of phrases may be switched, but the meaning will stay the same.
 1. By the time Catherine got to the office, the client had been waiting for an
hour.

2. The client had been waiting for an hour by the time Catherine got to the
office.

Past Perfect Simple or Past Perfect

Progressive (Continuous) Which to
use?
Punctuation Tip

When you begin a sentence with a time expression, put a comma (,) after the first part of the
sentence.

In general, use the past perfect simple when the first action started in the past and ended
before the second action began. Use the past perfect progressive when that first action was
still in progress when the second action began. Remember, both actions ended in the past.

1. I had fed the dogs before I tripped and fell.

2. I had been feeding the dogs when I tripped and fell.

Negative Sentences in the Past Perfect

Progressive (Continuous)
Useful Tip

Time Expressions in the Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Use since with a specific hour, month, year or a period in the past > since
2002 / since Tuesday

Use for with a number of hours, days, months or years > for twenty years

Use already between had and the verb > had already been flying

Use before, when and by the time before the past simple
> when they saw the boys
When creating negative sentences, we use the auxiliary (helping) verb hadnt (had not) + been
+ the ing (present participle) form of the verb.

Auxiliary Been + Rest of

Subject
Verb Verbing Sentence

I / You / We /
hadnt (had when you
They been sleeping
not) arrived
He / She / It

1. I hadnt been feeling well, so I sent him away.

2. Simon had not been expecting a positive answer when he got a job.

3. The hikers hadnt been walking long before they got lost.

Yes/No Questions in the Past Perfect

Progressive (Continuous)
To create a question that will be answered with a yes or no, use Had (or Hadnt for a negative
question) + been + the ing (present participle) form of the verb.

Auxiliary Been + Rest of

Subject
Verb Verbing Sentence

Had I / you / we / they been working when she called

 Auxiliary Been + Rest of
Subject
Verb Verbing Sentence

he / she / it

Hadnt been assisting you

1. Had he been drinking when you found him?

2. Had the manager been complaining about Jim before she fired him?

3. Hadnt the snow been falling for hours before then?

4.

Wh-Questions in the Past Perfect

Progressive (Continuous)
Wh- questions are questions that require more information in their answers. Typical wh- words
are what, where, when, why, which, who, how, how many, how much.

To form a wh-question, start with the wh-word, then add had, then the subject (a person or
thing that had been doing the action), followed by been and the ing (present participle) form of
the verb, and only then add the rest of the sentence.

Wh- Auxiliary Been + Rest of

Subject
Word Verb Verbing Sentence

What had I / you / we / been doing until then

they
he / she / it

Who been dating before me

 Wh- Auxiliary Been + Rest of
Subject
Word Verb Verbing Sentence

1. What had you been doing when you cut your finger?

2. Which fax message had you been trying to send when the power went off?

3. How long had he been waiting?