past perfect continuous.

In this lesson I am going to show you how to form and when to use a past perfect,

and how to from and when to use a past perfect continuous.

Now let's get started. Take a look at these sentences:

I had worked before I ate my breakfast.

I had been working before I ate my breakfast,

The first sentence is in the past perfect tense.

The second sentence is in the past perfect continuous tense.

Now let's have a look at how to make a past perfect.

We can make a past perfect for the regular verbs,

by using the auxiliary verb to have but then

the past tense from which is had,

and the past participle.

remember we can make a past participle

by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.

For example:

I had walked the dog.

For the irregular verbs we also use had and the past participle but here

the past participle has a different form.

She had driven my car the infinitive form of the verb is to drive.

The past perfect continuous is made with the auxiliary verb have but then

the past simple for which is had,

the past participle of the verb 'to be' which is been,

the base form of the verb

and ing.

For example

I had been walking the dog

and she had been driving my car.

Now let's have a look at the difference between the two.

We use the past perfect for verbs that express either an activity or a state,

which started in the past before something else in the past so we have

two things happening in the past but one before the other. For example

he had talked on the phone before he started cooking

I had broken my leg before I broke my arm.

A past perfect continuous is used for an activity which started in the past

before something else in the past

so only with activitie. For example

I had been talking to him

before I sent that email.

Please note

that we cannot use the verb 'to break' here.

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