Rule: Past Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar ShowHide

had been + -ing

An activity that went on for some time up to a moment in the past.

• How long – with for, since, all day: Pam had been doing the same job for ten years before she tried something different.
• The cause of a past result: Driving to work was difficult as it had been snowing all night.

I hadn't been sleeping well.
His clothes were covered in mud. What had he been doing?

Past Perfect Simple instead

had + 3rd form – the focus is on a finished action or its result.

• How many, how much: I had looked at twenty flats before I found one I liked.
• Done before another moment: I had finished my homework by the time my friends arrived.
• Something that didn't happen: We were hungry because we hadn't eaten since breakfast.
• State verbs – know, like, have (own): We had known each other for years.

Ask yourself: is it about the duration, how long it was going on? Take the continuous: They had been filming the same scene for three hours. Is it about the result, what was done or how many times? Take the simple: The phone had rung six times before they answered it.

Games on Past Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar

Ready-made games on this topic. Open one on the board and play in teams.

Open the Box · 15 boxesPast Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar team game (B1)A team game for B1: open a box and answer – Past Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar.Play

Flashcards · 24 cardsPast Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar practice (B1)Cards for B1: answer, then flip the card to check – Past Perfect Continuous – B1 Grammar.Play

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The sentences of this exercise as a game – nothing to set up.

Open the BoxTeam gameOpen a box, answer, win points.Play

FlashcardsFlip and checkSay the answer, then flip the card.Play