3. An action which began before a definite moment in the past, continued up to that moment and was still in progress at that moment

• This use of the Past Perfect we call the Past Perfect Inclusive.

• The preposition FOR denotes the whole period of duration of the action.

• SINCE denotes the starting point of the action.

E.g.	for two years.
He said he hadn’t seen Bob	since 2005.
	since.

NOTE 3. Mind the use of the Past Perfect with the following structures: It/That was the first/second/third/only/best/worst…that… .

E.g. It was the first time that he had heard Sarah sing.

That was the fifth time that the teacher had asked the same question.

It was the worst film I’d ever seen.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PAST INDEFINITE AND

THE PAST PERFECT

The Past Indefinite	The Past Perfect
1. denotes a succession of past actions;	1. denotes an action completed before a definite moment in the past or another past action;
E.g. I met Tom in 2005, moved to London and saw him again yesterday.	E.g. I saw Tom yesterday and remembered that I had met him before.
2. are used in principal clauses
when actions in both clauses are practically simultaneous;	when the action of the principal clause was completed before the action of the subordinate clause;
E.g. When the doctor arrived, the patient died. (=The patient died at the time or just after the doctor arrived.)	E.g. When the doctor arrived, the patient had died. (=The patient had been dead when the doctor arrived.)
3. are used in adverbial clauses of time after the conjunctions after, when, before, etc.
when actions in both clauses are simultaneous or when the action of the principal clause is the result of the action of the subordinate clause.	when the action of the subordinate clause was completed before the action of the principal clause.
E.g. When she came, she gave me the letter.	E.g. When she had left, I read the letter.

THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

(THE PAST PERFECT PROGRESSIVE)

§ 1. The Formation of the Past Perfect Continuous

1. We form the Past Perfect Continuous by means of the auxiliary verb TO BE in the Past Perfect (had been) and Participle I of the main verb.

HAD BEEN + PARTICIPLE I (Ving)

E.g. I had been writing the letter for two hours by that time.

She said she had been reading the book since Monday.

In informal English we can also use short affirmative forms.

Full affirmative forms	Short affirmative forms
I (he, she, it, we, you, they) had been working.	I (he, she, it, we, you, they)’d been working.

2. In negative sentences we place the negative particle NOT after the first part (had) of the auxiliary verb TO BE. In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. I had not/hadn’t been writing the letter for two hours by that time.

She said she had not/hadn’t been reading the book since Monday.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (he, she, it, we, you, they)had not been working.	I (he, she, it, we, you, they)hadn’t been working.

3. In interrogative sentences (questions) we place the first part (had) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject.

E.g. Had I been writing the letter for two hours by that time?

Had she been reading the book since Monday?

4. In negative-interrogative sentences (negative questions) we place the first part (had) of the auxiliary verb TO BE before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Had I not/Hadn’t I been writing the letter for two hours by that time?

Had she not/Hadn’t she been reading the book since Monday?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Had I (he, she, it, we, you, they) not been working?	Haven’t I (he, she, it, we, you, they) been working?