III. The use of the Past Perfect Continuous

1. The Past Perfect Continuous denotes an action which began before a definite moment in the past, continued up to that moment and was still going on at that moment. Either the starting point of the action is indicated or the whole period of duration. The preposition for is used to denote the whole period of duration. Since is used to indicate the starting point of the action.

We couldn’t go out because it had been raining since early morning.

We couldn’t go out because it had been raining for two hours.

◆ With verbs not admitting of the Continuous form the Past Perfect is the only tense

Possible.

With certain non-terminative verbs both the Past Perfect and the Past Perfect Continuous

Are used.

He said he had worked for twenty years.

(The fact is emphasized.)

He said he had been working for a long time without achieving final results.

(The process is emphasized.)

1. The past moment from which the action expressed by the Past Perfect Continuous is viewed may be indicated:

a) by an adverbial expression introduced by the preposition by:

By that time she had been studying English for three years.

By the end of July they had been living at the seaside for a fortnight.

b) by a subordinate clause of time introduced by the conjunction when:

I had been working at my English for about two hours when my friend came.

When she began to study English, she had been taking French lessons for two years.

The Past Perfect Continuous may also be used to express an action begun before a given past moment, coming very close to that past moment but no longer going on that past moment, this is shown by the context.

She rose from the bench where she had been sitting for half an hour. The wind which had been blowing harder than ever from the south-west all day, dropped at sunset, and the moon climbed out of the ocean into a clear sky.

He had been smoking a cigarette, now he threw the end of it into the grate and rose from the bed where he had been sitting.

◆ The Past Perfect Continuous should not be confused with the Past Continuous. The Past Continuous is used to denote an action going on at a definite moment in the past, no previous duration is expressed. The Past Perfect continuous is used when the previous duration of the action is expressed.

And now it was raining, had been raining for days the miserable fall rains of Eastern France.

The magnificent motor-car was waiting at the kerb. It had been waiting for two hours.

THE FUTURE PERFECT TENSE