PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
- To describe a past action, already started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past
USE OF SINCE/ FOR—-
- SINCE is used when the starting point is given.
- FOR is used when the period of time is given.
FOR EXAMPLE: –
| Period of Time (FOR) | Point of Time (SINCE) |
| For four hours | Since 2 O’clock |
| For three days | Since Monday |
| For five months | Since April |
| For seven years | Since 1990 |
| For some years | Since childhood, since this morning, since last week, since yesterday, |
AFFIRMATIVE/POSITIVE
RULE–SUB+HAD+BEEN+V1+ING+OB____ SINCE/FOR
FOR EXAMPLE: –
- I had been waiting for his call for two hours.
- We had been living in this city since 2010.
- The boys had been playing games since Sunday.
NEGATIVE
RULE–SUB+HAD+NOT+BEEN+V1+ING+OB____SINCE/FOR
FOR EXAMPLE
- They had not been running for few weeks.
- She had not been practicing since January.
- I had not been doing my work for six months.
INTERROGATIVE
RULE–HAD+SUB+BEEN+V1+ING+OB____SINCE/FOR?
FOR EXAMPLE: –
- Had you been driving since morning?
- Had they been learning English for three years?
- Had she been crying since last evening?
INTERROGATIVE NEGATIVE
RULE–HAD+SUB+NOT+BEEN+V1+ING+OB___SINCE/FOR?
FOR EXAMPLE: –
- Had he not been watching TV for 2 hours?
- Had they not been playing computer games for many months?
- Had she not been speaking English since childhood?
