Past perfect continuous: what had been going on? Past perfect continuous exercises for B2 students
About this lesson
This B2 drill lesson gives past perfect continuous exercises on what had been going on up to a past moment, and on when had done fits better.
- Grammar
- Had been + -ing for how long (We had been waiting for an hour.) and why (She had been crying.), set against had done, was doing and have been doing.
- Topic
- A detective's case notes on an old violin that vanished from an invented music school one Friday evening, and who had been doing what.
- Activities
- Gap-fills, for and since, written questions, short answers, word order, clues to match with causes, a sort of state verbs, drag-and-drop texts, a chat and a final test.
What's inside
Chapter 1The rule
Chapter 2How long had you been waiting?
- Fill in the gaps with had been + -ing: for and sinceFill in the gapsTry it
- Choose for or sinceChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the table: positive, negative, questionFill in the tableUnlock
- Write the questions: had been + -ingFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right short answerChoose the optionUnlock
- Put the words in the right orderUnjumbleUnlock
- Read Brigid's message and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
Chapter 3Clues and moments
- Match the clues and the causesMatchTry it
- Fill in the gaps with had been + -ing: explain the cluesFill in the gapsUnlock
- Choose the right form: at that moment or up to that moment?Choose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right form: up to now or up to then?Choose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right sentence for the situationQuizUnlock
- Read Ambrose's blog post and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
Chapter 4Simple or continuous?
- Choose the right form: the activity or the result?Choose the optionTry it
- Sort the verbs: can they take had been + -ing?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Fill in the gaps: past perfect simple or continuous? Read the clueFill in the gapsUnlock
- Fill in the table: how long or how many?Fill in the tableUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right wordsQuizUnlock
- Read the running club's report and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: simple and continuousUnjumbleUnlock
Chapter 5Real life: The case of the missing violin
- Read the detective's case notesReal-life documentUnlock
- Read the case notes again: true or false?True or falseUnlock
- Read Augusto's statement and fill in the gaps: past perfect simple or continuousFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read the interview and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the music school's post and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right replies: Saskia texts youChatTry it
- Test yourself: choose the right answerQuizUnlock
Chapter 6Homework
- Choose the right form: at the airportChoose the optionUnlock
- Fill in the gaps with had been + -ing: a busy weekFill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the matching pairs: verb and had been + -ingMemory gameUnlock
- Match the results and the causesMatchUnlock
- Fill in the table: make negatives and questionsFill in the tableUnlock
- Put the words in the right order: questions and sentencesUnjumbleUnlock
- Sort the time phrases: for or since?Sort into columnsUnlock
- Choose the right form: had done or had been doing?Choose the optionUnlock
- Write the questions with had been + -ing: what had been happening?Fill in the gapsUnlock
- Find the mistake and choose the right words: everyday EnglishQuizUnlock
- Is it correct English? Mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
- Read Rosamund's review and fill in the gaps: had been + -ingFill in the gapsUnlock
- Read Evander's email and drag the words into the gapsDrag and dropUnlock
- Read the news story and choose the right wordsChoose the optionUnlock
- Choose the right sentence: mixed practiceQuizUnlock
Grammar: the past perfect continuous: had been + -ing
The past perfect continuous looks back from a moment that is already past, at an activity that led up to it: When the bus came, we had been waiting for an hour. Learners use it for how long and for why, build its questions and short answers, and switch to had done when the result counts.
Past perfect continuous: what had been going on?
Go back from a moment in the past: say what had been happening up to it, for how long, or why things looked the way they did.
One form for every person
Had been + verb-ing doesn't change with the subject, and 'd been is its short form: They'd been talking since lunch. The negative is hadn't been + -ing. Questions start with Had, and short answers end there: Had she been working? – Yes, she had.
had been + verb-ing
subjecthad beenverb + -ing
When the bus came, we had been waiting for an hour.
Her eyes were red because she had been crying.
They'd been talking since lunch when the boss walked in.
The same form for every person
| Who | Positive (+) | Negative (−) | Question (?) and short answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| I · you · we · they | We had been waiting. · We'd been waiting. | We had not been waiting. · We hadn't been waiting. | Had we been waiting? Yes, we had. / No, we hadn't. |
| he · she · it | She had been working. · She'd been working. | She had not been working. · She hadn't been working. | Had she been working? Yes, she had. / No, she hadn't. |
Two uses: how long, and why
First, an activity runs up to a past moment, often with for, since or how long: By the time I called, Ana had been driving since six. Second, it explains a result someone could see or feel: Tom was out of breath. He'd been running.
Up to a moment in the past
- we had been waiting (for an hour)
- the bus came
- now
Two uses
How long? Up to a past moment
- for + a period (for an hour) · since + a starting point (since six) · all day · how long · by the time · when
- By the time I called, Ana had been driving since six.
- How long had you been working there when you quit?
Why? The cause of a past result
- someone could see or feel the result: wet, tired, dirty, red eyes, out of breath
- The roads were wet. It had been raining all night.
- Tom was out of breath. He'd been running.
Had been doing or had done?
Had been + -ing is about the activity, which may not be finished: We'd been painting the kitchen for two days, and it still wasn't finished. A number or a finished job takes had done, and so do state verbs such as know: I had known him for years.
had been + -ing: the activity
- how long? · the job may not be finished
- She had been writing emails all morning.
- We'd been painting the kitchen for two days, and it still wasn't finished.
had + past participle: the result
- how many? · a number · a finished job · one moment (lose, break, find)
- By noon, she had written twenty emails.
- State verbs (know, own, believe, belong, understand, seem): I had known him for years.
Was doing, had been doing, have been doing
Was + -ing is in progress at that moment: When I came in, she was crying. Had been + -ing runs up to it, and have been + -ing runs up to now. With live and work plus for or since, both had lived and had been living are fine.
was doing, had been doing, have been doing
was + -ing: in progress at that moment (When I came in, she was crying.). had been + -ing: up to that moment (She was smiling, but her eyes were red: she had been crying.). have been + -ing: up to now (I've been waiting for an hour!). With live and work + for / since, both forms are fine: had lived / had been living.
Common mistakes
Know, own, believe and belong take no -ing: I had known her, not had been knowing. After a past moment, have been waiting becomes had been waiting. The main verb keeps its -ing: She had been working all night, not had been work.
I had been knowing her for ten years.
I had known her for ten years.
know, own, believe, belong: no -ing
By noon, he had been finished three reports.
By noon, he had finished three reports.
a number of finished things → had + past participle
When the police arrived, we have been waiting for an hour.
When the police arrived, we had been waiting for an hour.
a moment in the past → had been
She had been work all night.
She had been working all night.
had been + verb-ing
Examples
- We had been driving for six hours when we finally saw the ocean.how long, up to a past moment
- Leo's hands were covered in paint. He had been painting his room.the cause of a result
- I hadn't been sleeping well, so I was tired all the time.a negative
- What had the kids been doing? The kitchen was a disaster!a question
- She had been studying for hours, but she had only read ten pages.the activity and the result
- He said he had been working late.reported speech: has been → had been
More lessons on this grammar: Past perfect lessons and exercises
Try the past perfect continuous exercises
Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.
What's in the lesson
- 41 auto-checked exercises
- 4 games
- 1 real-life document
- 1 grammar scheme
- 1 picture
The main objectives of this lesson are to:
- say how long something had been going on before a past moment: The baby had been crying for an hour when she finally fell asleep.
- explain a past result by its cause: Grandpa's hands were black with oil. He had been fixing his motorcycle.
- ask questions and give short answers: How long had she been working there when she got the promotion? Had you been waiting long? – No, I hadn't.
- use had done for a count, a finished job or a state verb: By noon, Lucia had written fifteen emails. I had known Theo for ten years.
- choose between was doing, had been doing and have been doing: Look at your hands! Have you been painting?
Past perfect continuous: what had been going on? is lesson 3 of English Grammar Practice · B2 and is listed on the past perfect page. It follows lesson 2, Future in the past: it was going to be perfect, and comes before lesson 4, Third conditional: if I hadn't missed that train…; the simple past perfect was B1 lesson 3. It brings no new words, so the violin case can run next to any course as extra grammar practice.
After the picture and the scheme, the rule chapter checks sentences as true or false, sorts them into how long or why and drills the form. “How long had you been waiting?” works on for and since, negatives and questions, short answers and Brigid's message after her driving test. “Clues and moments” matches clues with causes and sets the tense against was doing and have been doing. “Simple or continuous?” brings in had done, state verbs and a table of how long against how many. Real life is Detective Ashby's case notes on a missing violin, a witness statement, an interview, the school's post, Saskia's chat and a 12-question test.
All 15 homework tasks check themselves, in new settings: an airport, a busy week, a memory game, results and causes, a table, word order, for or since, written questions, two quizzes, a true or false, Rosamund's two-star restaurant review, Evander's email about a leaking pipe and a news story about a hiker lost for two nights.
- Grammar:
- past perfect continuous · had been + -ing · past perfect simple vs continuous · for / since / how long · state verbs
- Topic:
- grammar practice · detective stories · clues and evidence · music school
Teaching tips
- Start from a clue: describe a friend with red eyes and a tissue, or a kitchen covered in flour, and ask what had been happening. Students answer with had been + -ing before they see the scheme.
- Count first, then choose: if a sentence gives a number, such as fifteen emails, students use had done; if it asks how long, had been + -ing. The how-long-or-how-many table in chapter 4 rests on this.
- Read the case notes like detectives: before the true-or-false questions, pairs list who had been doing what at the music school between six and 7:15, then check their list against the notes.
- Contrast three times with one verb: When I came in, she was crying. Her eyes were red: she had been crying. She's been crying all morning. Students say which moment each sentence looks at.
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The whole course: English Grammar Practice · B2
English Grammar Practice · B2 has 24 drill lessons, one grammar point each: the future perfect and continuous, the third and mixed conditionals, wishes, past modals, the impersonal passive, have something done, participle clauses, reporting verbs and verb patterns. Each has the rule as a scheme, 43 to 47 exercises that check themselves, 15 of them for homework, and no new words.See the course
- 1Future continuous and future perfect: countdown to launch
- 2Future in the past: it was going to be perfect
- 3Past perfect continuous: what had been going on?
- 4Third conditional: if I hadn't missed that train…
- 5Mixed conditionals: where would you be now?
- 6Unless, in case and as long as: on one condition
- 7Wish and if only: is it too late?
- 8Would rather, had better and it's time: the couch crisis
- 9Past modals of deduction: what must have happened here?
- 10Should have and needn't have: what went wrong?
- 11Impersonal passive: it is said that…, she is said to…
- 12Have and get something done: who did the work?
- 13Non-defining relative clauses: the extra information
- 14Participle clauses: having planned everything
- 15Reporting verbs: what did they really say?
- 16Verbs + -ing or to: stop doing or stop to do?
- 17Make, let, allow and get: who makes the rules?
- 18Dependent prepositions: depend on, interested in, a reason for
- 19So do I and neither do I: agree, disagree and insist
- 20Articles with general ideas: life or the life?
- 21As, like and as if: interview like a pro
- 22Negative and echo questions: didn't you know?
- 23To, in order to and so that: what's it for?
- 24No use, no point and worth + -ing: what's worth your time?