Past Perfect Continuous is one of the types commonly used in everyday communication and in text. Therefore, knowing the basic knowledge about this type of structure is very important and essential for learners of English. The following article will help you to understand the characteristics and functions of the past continuous completion to be able to use the type more efficiently.
Define the past complete past
Past continuous completion is used to describe the process of an action that begins before another action in the past.
Source: Knowledge Idea
2. The structure of the past continuous completion
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Confirmation: S + had + been + V-ing
Example: Mark had been sitting there for more than an hour before he arrived. (Mark was sitting there for over an hour before he arrived)
By the time Sam found an umbrella, it had been raining for ten minutes. (When Sam found umbrella, it was raining 10 minutes)
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Negative: S + had not (+ not) + been + V-ing
Example: The hikers had not been walking long before they got lost. (The strollers did not go long before they got lost.)
Simon was not expecting a positive answer when he got a job. (Simon did not expect a positive answer when he got a job)
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Suspicion: Had + S + been + V-ing?
Hoặc What/How… + had + S + been + V_ing?
Example: Had the manager been complaining about Jim before she fired Davic? (Does the manager have a complaint about Jim before she fired him?)
How Long Had he được wait ing ? (How long has he been waiting?)
3. How to use past continuous completion
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Expressing an action that is taking place before another action in the past.
Example: She was traveling around Europe when she heard about her mother’s illness (she was traveling around Europe when she heard her mother’s illness )
They had been living in New York before they got jobs in Washington, DC (They were living in New York before she got a job in Washington)
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Describes the duration of an action that took place in the past.
This usage is quite similar to the present perfect continuous. However, the present complete continuity expresses the action that is taking place in the past and continues to the present. While the past complete succession emphasizes the action that is taking place and has ended in the past when another action occurs.
Example: By the time Catherine got to the office, the client had been waiting for an hour. When Catherine arrives at the office, the customer waits for 1 hour.
Ben had been working for three hours when Rachel came home. (When Rachel came home, Ben had been working for 3 hours)
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Expressing action is the cause of something in the past.
Example: I failed the test because i had been studying the wrong subject. (I missed the test because I had learned the wrong subject)
Mary got tired because she was working all day. (Mary was very tired because she worked all day)
4. Notes when used, past continuous completion
For the following verbs that are not used in continuous form, so instead of using the past continuous completion, we use the past tense to replace:
+ state: be, cost,
fit, mean, suit
+ possession: belong,
have
+ senses: feel, hear,
see, smell, taste, touch
+ feelings: hate,
hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
+ brain work:
believe, know, think (nghĩ về), understand
Ví dụ: The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought it. (Không đúng)
=>The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought it.
—- The passive of the past continuous completion: S + had + been + being + V3 / ed
Ví dụ: Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant’s fantastic dinners for two years before he moved to Paris. (chủ động)
The restaurant’s fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two years before he moved to Paris. (bị động)
– past tense to the past continuous completion:
We can also use the past tense to describe a cause in the past. However, the difference here is that the past has been preceded by a new or recent action, and the past fulfills an act that has long since ceased in the past.
For example: “My eyes were tired because I was working on the computer.”
“My eyes were tired because I had been working on the computer.”
It can be said that the past complete succession in particular and the types in English generally play an important role in English, helping to diversify statements, expressions and circumstances of each type of communication. . Hope this article has helped you read useful information to support learning English effectively and successfully.