Past Perfect Continuous Form : ( Had + been + verb + -ing )

In English we use the past perfect continuous to talk about a period of time which was in progress before another time in the past.

The table below shows the different forms of past perfect continuous :

Past Perfect Continuous Example Sentences :

Positive Examples of Past Perfect Continuous : 

• They had been playing cards for hours before the police arrived.
• She had been working at that bank for three years when they fired her.
• Brooke had been learning ballet for 8 years before she had the accident.
• We had been waiting for over two hours when the concert finally started!

Negative Examples of Past Perfect Continuous : 

• Sarah had not been practicing her French when she arrived in Paris.
• He hadn't been looking very hard when hecame across his keys on a chair.
• Phoebe hadn't been feeling well before she fainted.
  

Question Examples of Past Perfect Continuous : 

• Had you been exercising before you fell down?
• Where had he been walking for so long?
  
• What had she been doing all this time?