Past Perfect Continuous

The past perfect continuous описывает активность, которая была в процессе в течение периода времени до другого момента или события в прошлом. Оно сочетает длительность с перспективой «прошлое в прошлом»: что-то происходило некоторое время, когда случилось что-то другое.

She had been working at the hospital for twelve years before she moved abroad.

Это время иногда называют past perfect progressive — оба названия означают одно и то же.

Форма

Структура одинакова для каждого подлежащего: had been + verb-ing.

AFFIRMATIVE	NEGATIVE	QUESTION
had been waiting	had not been waiting	Had ... been waiting?

В речи и неформальном письме had сокращается до 'd: I'd been reading, they'd been travelling. Отрицательное сокращение — hadn't: We hadn't been expecting visitors.

James had been studying all evening.

They hadn't been paying attention during the meeting.

Had you been living in Berlin long before you found a job?

Вопросы с вопросительным словом следуют образцу question word + had + subject + been + verb-ing:

How long had she been waiting?

What had they been discussing before the manager arrived?

Длительность до события в прошлом

Это самое частое употребление. Past perfect continuous показывает, как долго длилась активность, прежде чем её прервало другое действие в прошлом или прежде чем наступил конкретный момент в прошлом.

Маркеры времени, которые обычно сигнализируют об этом употреблении: for, since, all day, all morning, how long, before, when, by the time.

Anna had been learning French for three years when she first visited Paris.

By the time the technician arrived, the server had been running without backup since Monday.

I had been sitting in the waiting room for forty minutes when the nurse finally called my name.

Daniel had been driving for six hours, so he stopped at a petrol station.

Обратите внимание на образец: длительность (for three years, since Monday, for forty minutes) плюс второе событие в прошлом, которое даёт точку отсчёта.

Причина, видимая в прошлом

Второе основное употребление — объяснение результата в прошлом через недавно завершённую активность. Сама активность, возможно, уже окончена, но её последствия всё ещё были видны в рассматриваемый момент прошлого.

His eyes were red because he had been crying.

The streets were wet — it had been raining all afternoon.

She was out of breath. She had been running to catch the train.

The kitchen smelled wonderful. Someone had been baking.

Здесь говорящего не интересует точная длительность. Суть в связи между активностью и её видимым результатом.

Past Perfect Simple vs Past Perfect Continuous

Оба времени оглядываются назад из момента в прошлом, но они подчёркивают разное.

Past Perfect Simple (had done) делает упор на завершённое действие или его результат:

She had written three reports before lunch.

Past Perfect Continuous (had been doing) делает упор на длительность или процесс активности:

She had been writing reports all morning.

Ещё несколько противопоставлений:

He had read the entire book. (finished it)

He had been reading the book for an hour. (emphasizes how long)

They had repaired the roof by Friday. (the job was done)

They had been repairing the roof all week. (emphasizes the ongoing process)

Когда предложение включает конкретное число завершённых элементов — three emails, two chapters, five laps — естественный выбор Past Perfect Simple. Когда оно включает длительность — for hours, all day, since morning — лучше подходит continuous-форма.

Глаголы состояния

Глаголы, описывающие состояния, а не действия — know, believe, own, belong, want, need, like, seem — обычно не принимают continuous-форм. Используйте вместо этого Past Perfect Simple.

She had known him for years before they started working together. (not had been knowing)

The house had belonged to the same family since 1920. (not had been belonging)

Несколько глаголов меняют смысл между stative и active употреблениями. Think в значении «иметь мнение» — stative (I had thought it was true), но think в значении «обдумывать, размышлять» может быть continuous (I had been thinking about the offer all week).

Частые ошибки

Пропуск -ing

She had been study all night

She had been studying all night

They had been wait for an hour

They had been waiting for an hour

Использование Past Continuous вместо Past Perfect Continuous для длительности до события в прошлом

I was working there for five years before I quit

I had been working there for five years before I quit

She was living in Rome since 2015 when the earthquake happened

She had been living in Rome since 2015 when the earthquake happened

Continuous-форма с глаголами состояния

He had been knowing her for a long time

He had known her for a long time

The car had been belonging to my grandfather

The car had belonged to my grandfather

Путаница Past Perfect Simple и Past Perfect Continuous

She had been written three letters by noon

She had written three letters by noon

He had worked all day, so he was exhausted

He had been working all day, so he was exhausted

She had been working at the hospital for twelve years before she moved abroad.

Это время иногда называют past perfect progressive — оба названия означают одно и то же.

Форма

Структура одинакова для каждого подлежащего: had been + verb-ing.

AFFIRMATIVE	NEGATIVE	QUESTION
had been waiting	had not been waiting	Had ... been waiting?

James had been studying all evening.

They hadn't been paying attention during the meeting.

Had you been living in Berlin long before you found a job?

Вопросы с вопросительным словом следуют образцу question word + had + subject + been + verb-ing:

How long had she been waiting?

What had they been discussing before the manager arrived?

Длительность до события в прошлом

Маркеры времени, которые обычно сигнализируют об этом употреблении: for, since, all day, all morning, how long, before, when, by the time.

Anna had been learning French for three years when she first visited Paris.

By the time the technician arrived, the server had been running without backup since Monday.

I had been sitting in the waiting room for forty minutes when the nurse finally called my name.

Daniel had been driving for six hours, so he stopped at a petrol station.

Причина, видимая в прошлом

His eyes were red because he had been crying.

The streets were wet — it had been raining all afternoon.

She was out of breath. She had been running to catch the train.

The kitchen smelled wonderful. Someone had been baking.

Здесь говорящего не интересует точная длительность. Суть в связи между активностью и её видимым результатом.

Past Perfect Simple vs Past Perfect Continuous

Оба времени оглядываются назад из момента в прошлом, но они подчёркивают разное.

Past Perfect Simple (had done) делает упор на завершённое действие или его результат:

She had written three reports before lunch.

Past Perfect Continuous (had been doing) делает упор на длительность или процесс активности:

She had been writing reports all morning.

Ещё несколько противопоставлений:

He had read the entire book. (finished it)

He had been reading the book for an hour. (emphasizes how long)

They had repaired the roof by Friday. (the job was done)

They had been repairing the roof all week. (emphasizes the ongoing process)

Глаголы состояния

She had known him for years before they started working together. (not had been knowing)

The house had belonged to the same family since 1920. (not had been belonging)

Частые ошибки

Пропуск -ing

She had been study all night

She had been studying all night

They had been wait for an hour

They had been waiting for an hour

Использование Past Continuous вместо Past Perfect Continuous для длительности до события в прошлом

I was working there for five years before I quit

I had been working there for five years before I quit

She was living in Rome since 2015 when the earthquake happened

She had been living in Rome since 2015 when the earthquake happened

Continuous-форма с глаголами состояния

He had been knowing her for a long time

He had known her for a long time

The car had been belonging to my grandfather

The car had belonged to my grandfather

Путаница Past Perfect Simple и Past Perfect Continuous

She had been written three letters by noon

She had written three letters by noon

He had worked all day, so he was exhausted

He had been working all day, so he was exhausted

Past Perfect Continuous

Форма

Длительность до события в прошлом

Причина, видимая в прошлом

Past Perfect Simple vs Past Perfect Continuous

Глаголы состояния

Частые ошибки

Другие уроки по этой теме

Past Perfect Continuous

Форма

Длительность до события в прошлом

Причина, видимая в прошлом

Past Perfect Simple vs Past Perfect Continuous

Глаголы состояния

Частые ошибки

Другие уроки по этой теме