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
Unlock full access by logging in. Registered users can explore the entire lesson and more.