Penggunaan
Past Perfect Continuous Tense digunakan menunjukkan suatu aktifitas atau peristiwa yang dimulai pada masa lampau dan berlanjut hingga waktu lain di masa lampau. for ten minutes, for two weeks dan lain-lain biasanya di periode tersebut sering digunakan dalam past perfect continuous tense.
Contoh :
They had been talking for over an hour before Anton arrived.
Mereka sudah bicara lebih dari satu jam sebelum Anton datang.
Mahmud wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
Mahmud ingin duduk karena dia berdiri sepanjang hari di tempat kerja.
Jonathan had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for Africa.
Jonathan telah mengajar di universitas selama lebih dari setahun sebelum dia pergi ke Afrika.
How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
Berapa lama Anda menunggu untuk naik bus?
She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of business.
Dia telah bekerja di perusahaan itu selama tiga tahun ketika perusahaan itu gulung tikar.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense berfungsi untuk mengungkapkan suatu alasan tindakan yang dilakukan di masa lampau. Dalam hal ini Past Perfect Continuous Tense seringkali digunakan untuk menggambarkan kalimat sebab-akibat.
Contoh :
Joko was tired because he had been jogging.
Joko lelah karena dia jogging.
Susi failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Susi gagal ujian akhir karena dia tidak menghadiri kelas.
Prabowo gained weight because he had been overeating.
Prabowo bertambah gemuk karena dia makan berlebihan.
Past Continuous dan Past Perfect Continuous
Pada past perfect continuous tense tidak menggunakan kata-kata yang menunjukkan periode waktu seperti for five minutes, for two weeks dan lain-lain kita lebih terbiasa menggunakan past continuous tense dari pada past perfect continuous tense. Past Continuous Tense menekankan pada aktifitas yang tertangguhkan, akan tetapi past perfect continuous tense menekankan pada periode waktu sebelum aktifitas yang lain di masa lampau.
Contoh :
He was tired because he was exercising so hard.
Kalimat diatas menekankan bahwa dia merasa lelah karena dia berlatih sangat keras pada saat itu.
He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
Kalimat diatas menekankan bahwa dia lelah karena telah berlatih keras pada kurun waktu tertentu di masa lampau. Mungkin saja dia masih terus berlatih pada waktu itu.
Kata-kata penunjuk waktu
Dalam Past perfect continuous tense biasanya bersamaan dengan simple past. Sangat perlu diperhatikan ketika past perfect continuous dan simple past tense dikombinasikan dalam satu kalimat :
Aktifitas pertama, aktifitas yang baru saja diselesaikan atau masih berlangsung sebelum aktifitas yang lain dilakukan => Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
Aktifitas kedua => Simple past.
Struktur Past Perfect Continuous Tense
| Subject | Auxiliary Verb | Been | Verb-ing | |||
| + | I | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | We | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | You | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | They | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | He | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | She | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | It | had | been | sleeping | For four hours before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | Budi | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| + | Ani and Wati | had | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| – | I | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | We | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | You | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | They | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | He | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | She | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | It | had | not | been | sleeping | For four hours before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | Budi | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| – | Ani and Wati | had | not | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
| ? | had | I | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | We | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | You | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | They | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | He | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | She | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | It | been | sleeping | For four hours before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | Budi | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. | |
| ? | had | Ani and Wati | been | cleaning | All week, before Lilis came to visit. |
Long Form (bentuk panjang) dan Short Form (bentuk pendek) di Past Perfect Continuous Tense
| POSITIVE | |
| Long Form | Short Form |
| I, You, He, She, It, We, They | |
| I had been reading | I’d been reading |
| You had been reading | You’d been reading |
| He had been reading | He’d been reading |
| She had been reading | She’d been reading |
| It had been reading | It’d been reading |
| We had been reading | We’d been reading |
| They had been reading | They’d been reading |
| NEGATIVE | |
| Long Form | Short Form |
| I, You, He, She, It, We, They | |
| I had not been reading | I’d not been reading/I hadn’t been reading |
| You had not been reading | You’d not been reading/You hadn’t been reading |
| He had not been reading | He’d not been reading/He hadn’t been reading |
| She had not been reading | She’d not been reading/She hadn’t been reading |
| It had not been reading | It’d not been reading/It hadn’t been reading |
| We had not been reading | We’d not been reading/We hadn’t been reading |
| They had not been reading | They’d not been reading/They hadn’t been reading |