Past perfect continuous

Form

Functions and examples

We use the past perfect continuous to talk about longer actions or events that happened before or up to another action or event in the past.

He was tired because he had been playing football all day.
They had been driving for three hours when the accident happened.
When saw her I could see that she had been crying.

Important points

1. When the action or event is more temporary, we often use the past perfect continuous, and when it is more permanent, we often use the past perfect simple.

We found the house where my grandparents had lived. -- Past perfect simple
We found a house where another family had been living for a few months. -- Past perfect continuous

2. Some verbs are not normally used in the past perfect continuous tense. These verbs include: believe, belong, depend, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, prefer, realise, suppose, want, understand.

I had known him for ten years when he got married.
I had been knowing him for ten years when he got married. x
I had belonged to the tennis club for 25 years when I left.
I had been belonging to the tennis club for 25 years when I left. x

See also: Past perfect simple / Past simple

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