A. Structure
Past Perfect Simple
|
Past Perfect Continuous
|
Affirmative
Had + past participle
She had eaten.
We had worked.
They had written.
|
Affirmative
Had been + verb-ing
She had been eating.
We had been working. They had been writing.
|
Negative
Had not (hadn’t) + past participle
She hadn’t eaten.
We hadn’t worked.
They hadn’t written.
|
Negative
Had not (hadn’t) + been + verb-ing
She hadn’t been eating.
We hadn’t been working.
They hadn’t been writing.
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Interrogative
Had + subject + past participle
Had she eaten?
Had you worked?
Had they written?
|
Interrogative
Had + subject + been + verb-ing
Had she been eating?
Had you been working?
Had they been writing?
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B. Use
Past Perfect Simple
|
Past Perfect Continuous
|
Past action which happened before another past action or before a stated past time.
He had already left when I got there.
She had finished lunch by 1:30.
|
Past action of a certain duration continuing up to a specific time in the past.
She had been working in a bank for three years before she got fired.
I had been doing my homework for an hour before the phone rang.
|
Completed past action with visible results in the past.
She was sad because she had failed her exam.
She was upset because she had lost her watch.
|
Past action of a certain duration with visible results in the past.
They were wet because they had been walking in the rain.
Her eyes were red because she had been crying.
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Past Equivalent of the Present Perfect Simple
Now: He can’t find his wallet. He has lost it.
Yesterday: He couldn’t find his wallet. He had lost it.
|
Past Equivalent of the Present Perfect Continuous.
Now: He is going to the doctor. His leg has been hurting him for two days.
Yesterday: He went to the doctor. His leg had been hurting him for two days.
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TIME EXPRESSIONS
By the time
By + time (by 5 o’clock)
Before
After
When
As soon as
No sooner….than
Since
|
TIME EXPRESSIONS
For
Since
All day /night / week etc
|
(a) I was eating dinner when my friends arrived. (I was still eating when they arrived)
Past Continuous = past action in progress at a certain past time
(b) I had been eating dinner when my friends arrived. (I had already finished my meal when they arrived)
Past Perfect Continuous = past action of duration continuing up to a certain time in the past.
Source: Mastering Use of English by Georgia Graham (Burlington Books)
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