Past Continuous or Past perfect Continuous
Hi everyone! In this blog we are going to be looking at the differences between these two tenses, and how to use them. I have also embedded my YouTube video for you which is also titled Past Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous. At the end of this blog we wrap things up with a test to check your learning. Let’s get started!
The Grammatical Structures
past continuous
subject + was/were + verb “ing”
I was talking.
You were talking.
He was talking.
She was talking.
It was talking.
We were talking.
They were talking.
*remember to choose was/were depending on the subject
past perfect continuous
subject + had been + verb “ing”
I had been talking.
You had been talking.
He had been talking.
She had been talking.
It had been talking.
We had been talking.
They had been talking.
To form the negative, look where we add NOT:
I was not talking.
You were not talking.
He was not talking.
She was not talking.
It was not talking.
We were not talking.
They were not talking.
I had not been talking.
You had not been talking.
He had not been talking.
She had not been talking.
She had not been talking.
We had not been talking.
They had not been talking.
To form questions, change the word order:
Was I talking?
Were you talking?
Was he talking?
Was she talking?
Was it talking?
Were we talking?
Were they talking?
Had I been talking?
Had you been talking?
Had he been talking?
Had she been talking?
Had it been talking?
Had we been talking?
Had they been talking?
If you’d like examples, explanations and exercises for all 12 tenses in English, you can click the image below to purchase my 61-page info pack on the 12 tenses.
CLICK the image
Part 1: at the same time / before
We use the past continuous when an action happens at the same time as another past action.
We use the past perfect continuous when an action is completed before another past action action.
COMPARE:
Usually with the past perfect continuous, there is evidence of the finished past action.
What evidence is there in this example? The ground is covered in snow.
COMPARE:
What evidence is there in this example? There is a trashcan full of tissues and Janine’s eyes are red.
Here are the four examples you just looked at. You can see that all of these sentences also include the past simple.
- It was snowing, so I put on my winter boots.
- *I hugged Janine because she was crying.
- It had been snowing so I put on my winter boots.
- I hugged Janine because she had been crying.
*I changed “so” to “because” to give the sentences a bit of variety.
The past continuous and the past perfect continuous are almost always used with the past simple.
Let’s compare two more examples:
I was feeling dizzy, so I sat down and drank some water.
I had been feeling dizzy in the evenings, so I decided to book an appointment with my doctor.
The past perfect continuous often emphasizes a longer action. You can see I added “in the evenings” to emphasize that the dizziness had been happening for a longer period.
Part 2: interruptions
Both tenses can express an interrupted action.
In grammar, how do we express an interruption? We use WHEN + past simple.
COMPARE:
What’s the difference?
The past perfect continuous emphasizes duration. You can see “for + hours”.
The past perfect continuous emphasizes duration. The past continuous does not.
Let’s compare two more sentences:
The documentary crew was filming a reef when a sea turtle appeared.
The documentary crew had been filming for days when a sea turtle finally appeared.
In the first sentence, the past continuous is just telling you what was happening when a sea turtle appeared.
In the second sentence, the past perfect continuous emphasizes the duration. Maybe the documentary was actually about sea turtles and the crew had to be patient and wait.
“For” is very common, but there are other ways to show duration.
…since Monday / all week etc.
The duration doesn’t have to be a long duration:
I’d only been waiting at the *DMV for 2 minutes when they called my name.
*The DMV is the Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s the government agency that takes care of your driver’s license and vehicle registration.
COMMON QUESTION:
Do the actions continue after the interruption?
It depends on the context.
The documentary crew was filming a reef when a sea turtle appeared. / The documentary crew had been filming for days when a sea turtle finally appeared.
Yes the action continued. Why would the crew stop filming because of a sea turtle?
I’d only been waiting at the *DMV for 2 minutes when they called my name.
No, the action didn’t continue. Why would someone keep waiting after their name was called?
The past continuous and the past perfect continuous are often used with: before / by the time / until
I’d been working at Bruce&Bit for 3 years before I got a promotion.
By the time the firemen arrived, the fire alarm had been ringing for 45 minutes.
Everyone was having a good time until it started to rain.
MINI REVIEW
✅The past continuous happens at the same time as another past action. This can be one single action OR another longer action.
✅The past perfect continuous finishes before another past action.
✅We normally use these tenses with the past simple.
✅Both the past continuous and past perfect continuous can be interrupted, but the past perfect continuous often emphasizes duration with the word “for“.
Test Time! Select the correct tense:
1) I was trying / had been trying to fall asleep when I heard a strange noise.
2) I put in earplugs because my roommate was listening / had been listening to heavy metal.
3) Kai finally beat Keira at chess because he was practicing / had been practicing.
4) The phone was ringing / had been ringing for 10 minutes when someone finally answered it.
5) I let Mike borrow my laptop because I wasn’t using it / hadn’t been using it.
6) Amy was living / had been living in the same house for 45 years, so her move was unexpected.
7) I was sending out / had been sending out my resume for about 5 weeks before I got my first interview.
8) I was advertising / had been advertising for months before I got my first customer.
Answers:
1) I was trying / had been trying to fall asleep when I heard a strange noise.
2) I put in earplugs because my roommate was listening / had been listening to heavy metal.
3) Kai finally beat Keira at chess because he was practicing / had been practicing.
4) The phone was ringing / had been ringing for 10 minutes when someone finally answered it.
*5) I let Mike borrow my laptop because I wasn’t using it / hadn’t been using it.
6) Amy was living / had been living in the same house for 45 years, so her move was unexpected.
7) I was sending out / had been sending out my resume for about 5 weeks before I got my first interview.
8) I was advertising / had been advertising for months before I got my first customer.
How did you do? 8 out of 8? 5 out of 8? Let me know in the comments below.
*Number 5 seemed to be a bit confusing to my YouTube viewers. The past continuous the most natural choice because we generally let people borrow things we are not using at that moment. But, in some situations, the past perfect continuous could also be correct.
