Jane went to the zoo before she had finished reading her new book about elephants. Compare the following examples: Example: Jane had read a lot about elephants before she went to the zoo. If the action after "before" started (and was not completed) before a certain time in the past, use Past Perfect. The Past Perfect Continuous tense is like the Past Perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. If the action after "before" is a new action, use Simple Past. "Before" as well can either be used with Simple Past or Past Perfect. The formula for the past perfect continuous tense is had been + present participle (root form of verb +-ing). (second action had been completed when the first action took place) Before (second action happened after the first action had been completed) When Jane went to see the elephants, she had already seen the lions. (at the same time) When Jane had seen the elephants, she wanted to see the giraffes. Compare the following examples: Example: When Jane saw the elephants, she was amazed. More exceptions with signal words Whenĭepending on the situation, "when" can be used with Simple Past or Past Perfect. Example: After her visit to the zoo, Jane was exhausted. When I found Susie, I could see that she had been crying. At that time I had been studying in London for three years. However, if "after" is followed by object + subject + verb, the verb belongs to the new action and is therefore in Simple Past. Uses The past perfect continuous tense is used to talk about longer actions or situations which had continued up to the past moment that we are thinking about. Example: After the family had had breakfast, they went to the zoo. An action started before and continued up to a fixed time in the past: The past perfect continuous can also be used for actions in the past just as the present. *Note: "After" is only used as a signal word for Past Perfect if it is followed by a subject + verb, meaning that one action had been completed before another action began (the new action is in Simple Past). She opened her birthday presents and then the whole family went to the zoo.īefore/up to a certain time in the past Example: Before her sixth birthday, Jane had never been to the zoo. Some time in the past Example: Jane got up at seven. Normal order in the past or looking back to an event before a certain time in the past?ĭo you just want to tell what happened some time in the past or do you want to tell what had happened before/up to a certain time in the past? Simple Past However, when we look back from a certain time in the past to tell what had happened before, we use Past Perfect. Try some other exercises about the past perfect continuous here.We use Simple Past if we give past events in the order in which they occured. I'd been working before I saw you and that's why I was really tired.Ĭlick here to download an exercise about choosing the past perfect simple or the past perfect continuous.The children had been playing and so the room was a mess!.(The rain had finished before the time I'm describing in the past. The pavement was wet, it had been raining.It's very similar to the present perfect continuous, but the action finishes before another time in the past, rather than finishing before the present. This is usually used to show a result at a time in the past. We'd been living in Berlin for three months when we had to leave.Ģ: Something that finished just before another event in the past.I'd been walking for hours when I finally found the house.She had been working at that company for a year when she met James.(We can also use the past perfect simple here, often with stative verbs.) The past perfect continuous tells us 'how long', just like the present perfect continuous, but this time the action continues up to a point in the past rather than the present. Read about how to make the past perfect here.ġ: Something that started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past. When should I use the Past Perfect Continuous?ĭownload this explanation in PDF here.
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