Form: past perfect continuous
had + been + present participle (verb-ing)
The past perfect continuous (also called the past perfect progressive) is formed with had + been (the past participle form of be) + the present participle -ing form of the verb.
Affirmative
| Subject | Auxiliary | Verb (present participle) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I You He/She/It We You They |
had | been | waiting | for hours by then. |
Negative
| Subject | Auxiliary 1 | not | Auxiliary 2 | Verb (present participle) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I You He/She/It We You They |
had | not | been | waiting | long. |
The contracted form hadn't is often used instead of had not in spoken and in informal written language.
Interrogative
| (Question word) | Auxiliary 1 | Subject | Auxiliary 2 | Verb (present participle) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
How long |
had |
I |
been |
waiting |
by then? |
