Learn the definition, rules, usage, example sentences, and practice exercises of the past perfect progressive tense in English. Learn the entire lesson and enhance your English grammar learning skills.
Past Perfect Progressive Tense
When you want to refer to an action, a state, or an event that originated prior to another time in the past but is still ongoing or incomplete, use the past perfect progressive.
- ONGOING STATE: I had been having frequent headaches, so I decided to visit a doctor.
- INCOMPLETE ACTION: We had been making plans when someone interrupted us.
You can also use the past perfect progressive to refer to a hypothetical action or event.
- HYPOTHETICAL ACTION: If they had been paying attention, they would have found the clues.
The past perfect progressive consists of two auxiliary verbs, have and be, and the -ing form of the main verb. The auxiliary verb had comes first, and it is marked for tense.
Next comes the perfect/passive form of the verb be—been. The final element of the past perfect progressive is the -ing form of the main verb.
Singular | Plural | |
First Person | I had been verb + ing | we had been verb + ing |
Second Person | you had been verb + ing | you had been verb + ing |
Third Person | he, she, it had been verb + ing | they had been verb + ing |
Forming Negatives
To make a past perfect progressive verb negative, place “not” after the auxiliary verb “had.”
- had not been going
Take a short look at these example sentences:
- She had not been studying for hours before the exam.
- Explanation: Indicates that she did not spend hours studying before the exam.
- They had not been living in Paris for five years when they decided to move.
- Explanation: Shows that they did not live in Paris for a full five years before deciding to move.
- I had not been working at the company for two years before I got promoted.
- Explanation: This means I did not work at the company for two years before the promotion happened.
- He had not been feeling well for days before he went to the doctor.
- Explanation: Indicates that he was not feeling well for several days before visiting the doctor.
- We had not been planning the event for months before we had to cancel it.
- Explanation: Shows that we did not spend months planning the event before it was canceled.
Forming Contractions
Contractions are often formed by combining pronouns and the auxiliary verb had or by combining the auxiliary verb had and not. You will often hear these contractions in conversation or see them in informal writing, but you will rarely find them used in formal contexts.
Notice that an apostrophe indicates that at least one letter is omitted.
Contractions for Simple Sentences | Contractions for Negative Sentences |
I’d been going | I hadn’t been going |
You’d been going | You hadn’t been going |
He’d been going | He hadn’t been going |
She’d been going | She hadn’t been going |
It’d been going | It hadn’t been going |
We’d been going | We hadn’t been going |
They’d been going | They hadn’t been going |
Example Sentences:
- I’d been going to the gym regularly before I got injured.
- You’d been going to the same coffee shop every morning.
- He’d been going to that school for three years.
- She’d been going to dance classes every weekend.
- It’d been going smoothly until the power outage.
- We’d been going on vacation every summer.
- They’d been going to the same restaurant for years.
Forming yes-or-no Questions
To form yes-or-no questions, begin the question with the auxiliary verb have. After a tensed form of have (had), place the subject, the perfect/passive form of the auxiliary verb be (been), and the -ing form of the main verb.
- Statement: She had been doing all her work.
- Yes/no question: Had she been doing all her work?
Yes or No Questons with Answers
- Question:
- “Had you been working on that project before it was canceled?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, I had.”
- Question:
- “Had she been living in the city for long before she moved?”
- Answer:
- “No, she hadn’t.”
- Question:
- “Had they been practicing for the competition before they won?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, they had.”
- Question:
- “Had he been feeling ill before he saw the doctor?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, he had.”
- Question:
- “Had we been waiting for the bus for an hour before it arrived?”
- Answer:
- “No, we hadn’t.”
- Question:
- “Had it been raining all morning before the sun came out?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, it had.”
- Question:
- “Had you been traveling a lot before you settled down?”
- Answer:
- “No, I hadn’t.”
- Question:
- “Had she been studying hard before the final exams?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, she had.”
- Question:
- “Had they been planning the event for months before it was postponed?”
- Answer:
- “Yes, they had.”
- Question:
- “Had he been working out regularly before he joined the marathon?”
- Answer:
- “No, he hadn’t.”
Forming Wh-Questions
In wh-questions, when the question word is the subject of the sentence, the form of the question is similar to the form of a statement.
- Statement: Joseph had been driving when the accident happened.
- Wh-question: Who had been driving when the accident happened?
When the question word is any other part of the sentence, the auxiliary verb had comes after the question word and is followed by the subject, the auxiliary verb been, and the -ing form of the main verb.
- Statement: She had been living in St. Louis at the time.
- Wh-question: Where had she been living at the time?
Past Perfect Progressive Tense Exercises
Exercise-1
Complete each sentence with the past perfect progressive form of the verb in parentheses.
1. I ———— (work) ten-hour days, so I was very tired.
2. We ———— (discuss) that issue when the supervisor walked in.
3. They ———— (study) English since they came in 2017.
4. The company’s profits ———— (increase) until they dropped in December.
5. They ———— (play) soccer together for years.
6. It ———— (rain) all day, so the game was postponed.
7. The children ———— (watch) television before we arrived.
8. He ———— (write) newspaper editorials for twenty years.
9. Sally ———— (study) since 6:00 A.M.
10. I ———— (work) for the telephone company before I came here.
Exercise-2
Complete each of the following sentences with the negative form of the past perfect progressive. Use the subject and verb provided.
EXAMPLE:
- We, expect, not
We had not been expecting your call.
1. The supervisor, assign, not
———— ———— much work lately.
2. The weather, improve, not
———— ———— , so we returned home.
3. Jodi and I, follow, not
———— ———— his directions.
4. They, check, not
———— ———— the oil in their car frequently enough.
5. She, ignore, not
———— ———— the phone messages.
6. You, get, not
———— ———— to work on time.
7. I, exercise, not
———— ———— , so I was feeling sluggish.
Exercise-3
Use the pronoun and verb given to create a sentence that contains a contraction. If not is also given, use a negative contraction.
EXAMPLE:
- We, hope
We’d been hoping for a nice day
1. He, expect, not
———— ———— a phone call.
2. It, change
———— ———— slowly.
3. We, hope
———— ———— for good news.
4. They, look, not
———— ———— in the right places.
5. She, lie
———— ———— on the couch when the doorbell rang.
6. You, joke, not
———— ———— about the possible danger.
7. I, think
———— ———— about you when your letter arrived.
Exercise-4
Rewrite the following statements as yes/no questions.
EXAMPLE:
- The administration had been putting pressure on the employees.
Had the administration been putting pressure on the employees?
1. You had been working too hard.
2. He had been living by himself.
3. She had been talking too loudly.
4. They had been waiting a long time.
5. The suspect had been telling the truth.
Exercise-5
Complete the following questions based on the statements provided:
EXAMPLE:
- The band had been playing together for five years.
How long had the band been playing together?
1. Michelle had been making the arrangements.
Who ———— ————
2. He had been thinking about moving for the last few months.
How long ———— ————
3. They had been using my old computer before the new shipment arrived.
What ———— ————
4. Vladimir had been leading the discussion when the argument started.
Who ———— ————
5. They had been working on the project since June.
How long ———— ————
Past Tenses
Present Tenses
- The Simple Present Tense in English
- Present Progressive Tense In English
- Present Perfect Tense in English
- Present Perfect Progressive Tense in English