Subject + Had + Been + Verb With "-Ing" at the end + the rest of the sentence.
In order to write affirmative sentences, we write the auxiliary "Had" after the subject and followed by the word "Been". Then, we write the main verb with the "-ing" form at the end of it (that indicates that the action was in progress).
Examples
I had been studying for hours when I fell asleep.
British
American
They had been waiting for several minutes when the bus appeared.
British
American
Tom bought the house that he had been dreaming about since he was a child.
British
American
Subject + Had Not + Been + Main Verb with Ing in the End + the rest of the sentence.
The structure in the negative form is the same as in the Affirmative one. Add "not" to the auxiliary verb, so it is written... Had not (Hadn't).
Examples
They had not been living together for long when they broke up.
British
American
He hadn't been playing long when it started raining.
British
American
When the teacher came in, the children had not been speaking loudly.
British
American
Had + Subject + Been + Verb with Ing in the End + the rest of the sentence?
In the interrogative form, the auxiliary "Had" is written before the subject.
Examples
Had you been studying for a long time before the competition?
British
American
Had she been working for a long time at the office when she was fired?
British
American
Had he been running too much when he started feeling sick?
British
American
1 The baby _____ when his mother arrived.
2 Tina _____ watching TV.
3 _____ from California?
4 My uncle _____ here for ages!
5 They _____ before.
6 It's used to talk about actions in progress in the Past.
7 The action in Past Perfect Continuous is generally interrupted by another action in Present.
8 We generally use prepositions like "For" and "Since".
9 The main verb is always conjugated in the Participle form.
10 When she arrived, the boys _____ the bedroom.
11 I _____ when it became dark.
12 _____ they been studying before the test?
13 Susan had been _____ for hours.
14 The action in Past Perfect Continuous is generally interrupted by an action in the Past.
15 The main verb always ends with the "–ing" form.
