Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous: Useful Differences

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous Differences in Form

• Past PerfectTense:

We form the Past Perfect withhadand thepast participle:

Had + Past Participle

• Past Perfect ContinuousTense:

We form the Past Perfect Continuous with had been and the -ing form of the verb:

Had been + V-ing

Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous Differences in Usage

• Thepast perfecttense expresses a past action, already finished when another past action happened; thepast perfect continuoustense describes a past action which started in the past and continued to happen after another action or time in the past.

Examples:

I met themaftertheyhad divorced.(past perfect)

Sarahad been workingherefor two weekswhen she had the accident.(past perfect continuous)

• Thepast perfecttense emphasizes the result of an activity in the past; In contrast, thepast perfect continuoustense emphasizes the duration of an activity in the past.

Examples:

Ihad beento Londontwiceby the time I got a job in New York.(past perfect)

Richard needed a holiday because hehad been workinghard for six months.(past perfect continuous)

• Thepast perfecttense shows two events in the past that are linked, while thepast perfect continuoustense shows the cause of a past action.

Example:

I couldn’t take my flight because Ihad forgottenmyboarding pass.(past perfect)

Ihad been travellingall night, so I was tired.(past perfect continuous)

Difference between Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous | Picture

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