Past Perfect Progressive – Verb Meaning and Use

This post will show you how to use the Past Perfect Progressive (also called the Past Perfect Continuous). To see how to form the Past Perfect Progressive, click here.

The Past Perfect Progressive expresses the relationship in time between two past events, similar to the Past Perfect. However, the Past Perfect Progressive emphasizes that the first event was ongoing and continued up to or just before the second event.

• Tomomi had been studying all night. (Past Perfect Progressive, 1^st event)
• She was exhausted at breakfast. (Past Simple, 2^nd event)

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 For and since often show how long a situation lasted before the second past event.

• Chris left his office at 6:00 pm. (Past Simple, 2^nd event)
• He‘d been working since 8:00 am. (Past Perfect Progressive, 1^st event)

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The Past Perfect Progressive is often used in sentences using past time clauses.

• Michelle had been working for nine and a half hours (Past Perfect Progressive, 1^st event)
• by the time she left her office. (Past Simple, 2^nd event)

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Certain common verbs can be used with the Past Perfect and the Past Perfect Progressive with little or no difference in meaning, but using the Progressive can show a more intense or emotional situation.

• Mr. Garcia had lived there since 1982. (Past Perfect)
• Mr. Garcia had been living there since 1982.  (Past Perfect Progressive)
• I’d waited an hour (neutral)
• I’d been waiting an hour. (I was so mad!)

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The Past Perfect can express a completed action that may or may not have happened recently. In contrast, the Past Perfect Progressive suggests that an action was continuing up to or ended just before a specific time in the past.

• Janice had watered the garden before I arrived. (She may have watered it a few minutes or many hours before I arrived.)
• Janice had been watering the garden before I arrived. (She watered the garden a few minutes before I arrived. The ground was still wet.)

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We do not use the Past Perfect Progressive to tell how many times an action is repeated.

• I’d read it three times before. (Correct)
• I’d been reading it three times before. (Incorrect)

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Both the Past Perfect and the Past Perfect Progressive are used to provide background information about earlier events. They are used to give reasons with because, express contrasts with although or even though, and are used to draw conclusions.

• She looked very tired because she had been studying all night. (Reason)
• She looked very tired because she had studied all night. (Reason)
• She looked very tired although she had been sleeping for 12 hours. (Contrast)
• She looked very tired although she had slept for 12 hours. (Contrast)
• I realized that he had been criticizing my work. (Conclusion)
• I realized that he had criticized my work. (Conclusion)

Past Perfect – Meaning and Use

This post will show you how to use the Past Perfect. To see how to form the Past Perfect, click here.

The Past Perfect expresses the relationship in time between two past events. It shows that one action or state happened before another action or state in the past. The Past Perfect expresses the first event and the Past Simple often expresses the second, or later, event.

• I had just completed the exam. (Past perfect, 1^st event)
• I felt so relieved. (Past Simple, 2^nd event)

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The past time can be recent or distant.

• Michael called me this morning, but I wasn’t there; I had already left.  (Recent time)
• Michael wrote me last year, but I never got the letter; I had moved away.

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The Past Perfect is often used in sentences containing past time clauses. The Past Perfect is used to indicate the first event, and the Past Simple is used for the second event. Before, by the time, when, until, and after introduce the time clause.

Past Perfect (1^st Event)                                    Past Simple (2^nd Event)

The thief had escaped                                    before I called the police.

We had calmed down                                    by the time the police came.

He had been upstairs                                    when we came home.

We hadn’t noticed                                                until we heard the footsteps.

After I had called the police,                         we realized the thief was gone.

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In sentences with before, after, by the time, and until, the Past Perfect is sometimes replaced by the Past Simple with no difference in meaning.

• I had gone inside before I took off my coat. = I went inside before I took off my coat.
• After I had gone inside, I took off my coat. = After I went inside, I took off my coat.

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The Past Perfect is often used with the same adverbs and prepositions as the Present Perfect: already, yet, still, ever, never, for, since, and just.

•  By  lunch time, we had  already discussed the new budget and written a new report.
• I had lived in Texas for 12 years before I moved to California.
• Had she ever eaten a hot dog before she came to the United States? No, she’d never had one!!

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By + a time can be used with the Past Perfect to express the later time in the sentence.

• We had finished by then.
• By noon, we had hiked two miles.

Present Simple – Verb Forms

The Present Simple verb tense is very common in the English language, so it’s important to understand it well.  The form you see here applies to all verbs, except the irregular verb “to be”, which must be memorized.

This post will show you how to form the Present Simple. To see how to use the Present Simple, click here.

Don’t forget the “s” or “es” with he/she/it!!

Affirmative Statements

Subject	Base Verb or Base Verb + -s/-es
I	eat	vegetables.
You	eat	breakfast at 8:00.
He/she/it	eats	very slowly.
We	eat	what we like.
They/you (plural)	eat	healthy food.

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Negative Statements

Subject	Do not or Does not	Base Verb
I	do not (don’t)	like	spiders.
You	do not (don’t)	cook	on the weekends.
He/she/it	does not (doesn’t)	live	in Tokyo.
We	do not (don’t)	travel	in the winter.
They/you (plural)	do not (don’t)	walk	to school.

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Yes/No Questions

Do/Does	Subject	Base Verb
Do	you	play	baseball?
Does	he/she	play	the piano?
Do	they/you (plural)	play	well?

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Information Questions

Wh- Word	Do/Does	Subject	Base Verb
Who	do	you	teach	on Mondays?
What	does	he	study	at university?
When	does	she	travel	to Europe?
Where	does	the bus (it)	go?
Why	do	they	yell	at their kids?
How	do	they	make	baby carrots?

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Short Answers.

NO	Subject	Do not or Does not
No,	I	do not (don’t).
No	you	do not (don’t).
No	he/she/it	does not (doesn’t)
No	we	do not (don’t).
No	they/you (plural)	do not (don’t).