Past Perfect Continous/Progressive Tense

1.      Past Perfect Continous/Progressive Tense

The past perfect  continous emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in progress before another activity or time in the past.

Pattern

(+)  S + had + been + V ing + O

(-)   S + had + not + been + V ing + O

(?)   Had + S + been + V ing + O?

·         I had been watching movie for two hours before I took a bath at 8 pm.

6pm(watched)            8pm( took a bath)               10pm(now)         

Examples :

·         We had been eating when Bobby called. ( first: Bobby called, second: we had been eating = Bobby datang lebih dulu, kita sudah sedang makan)

·         He came at six o’clock, I had not been waiting him for two hours.

·         Had the police been looking for the criminal for two years before they caught him?