The past perfect and the past perfect continuous are both used to show the order of events in the past. The biggest difference between them is that the past perfect is used for past thought or activity that was completed, but the past perfect continuous is used for a past thought or activity that was still continuing. For example:
| Past Perfect | I had finished the test when the time ran out. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | I had been finishing the test when the time ran out. |
The first sentence tells that when the time ran out, I had already finished the test. I was done.
The second sentence tells that when the time ran out, I was still working on finishing my test. I was not done yet.
Time clauses
When we use the past perfect or the past perfect continuous, it is always to provide information about another event in the past. Remember, if you only mention one thing that happened, then the past perfect or the past perfect continuous are not the right tense for your sentence!
Time clauses tell the order of events. There are many different time clauses, but the ones that are most often used with past perfects are:
- before
- when
- by the time
- until
- after
When we use past perfects, there are always two events and usually a time clause.
| First Event | Second Event | Full Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| By the time I got home, | my puppy had eaten almost all of my shoes. | By the time I got home, my puppy had eaten almost all of my shoes. |
| I had been hiding for half an hour | until my brother finally realized I was gone. | I had been hiding for half an hour until my brother finally realized I was gone. |
| Miss Ho had been teaching math class | when the fire alarm went off. | Miss Ho had been teaching math class when the fire alarm went off. |
| After I had mailed my letter, | I realized I forgot to put on a stamp. | After I had mailed my letter, I realized I forgot to put on a stamp. |
Remember that the same rule with time clauses applies. If the time clause comes in the first event, put a comma (,) after the first event!
In sentences with two events, the past perfect or past perfect continuous is used to talk about the first event. The simple past is used to talk about the second event. Most time clauses except for 'after' automatically talk about something that happened second, so usually the time clause is attached to the simple past.
Emphasizing meaning
Sometimes we can use helping words to make the order of events clearer. To do this, we use words like:
- just
- already
- yet
- never
- ever
- still
- for
- since
These words emphasize the order and make your phrases stronger.
| No helping words | We had been waiting for twenty minutes and the show had not started. | |
| With helping words | We had already been waiting for twenty minutes and the show still had not started! |
Using 'by'
Sometimes we can use 'by' + time to talk about a time in the sentence.
She had read it all by then.
By noon, I had gotten to the top of the mountain.
By spring time, the tree had grown 30 cm.
How many times
Usually, we do not use the past perfect continuous to talk about how many times something has happened.
| Use the past perfect | I'd watched that movie three times before my teacher showed it to us. |
| Don't use the past perfect continuous | |
| Use the past perfect continuous | I'd been watching that movie before my teacher showed it to us. |
Exercise
Open the exercise to begin the activity. Follow the instructions in the document.