What are past perfect continuous tense examples?
What are past perfect continuous tense examples?
-
1 Answer
-
Have a look at the Past Perfect Continuous Tense examples below:
- They had been playing outside when it began to rain.
- The cats had been meowing all night.
- The mother had been preparing the meals before the guests arrived.
Similar Questions for you
Students can follow the below mentioned steps to identify Past Continuous Tense in English Sentence:
· Look for "was" or "were". These past forms of the verb "to be" are essential for forming the past continuous. For example: She was reading a book when the doorbell rang.
· Check for the "-ing" form. The main verb (action word) will always be in its present participle form, ending in "-ing". For example: She was reading a book when the doorbell rang.
· The sentence should describe an action that was happening at a particular mome
Also known as state-of-being verbs, these verbs cannot be used in any continuous tense, including the past continuous. This is because Stative verbs describe feelings that can't be directly observed or measured in terms of progress. Examples:
· Incorrect: "I was knowing him."
· Correct: "I knew him."
· Incorrect: "He was owning a house."
· Correct: "He owned a house."
Here are some examples:
· I was watching a movie when the power went out.
· They were working in the office.
· Mary was sleeping when her parents came home.
The past continuous tense adds detail to storytelling. It provides a sense of duration and continuity to events, showing what was happening at a specific moment, or what was in progress when something else occurred.
Students can refer to following books to study Past Continuous Tense in a detailed manner. These books focus on the usage, exceptions and rules of using the tense in English grammar.
Books | Author |
Basic Grammar Practice Handbook on Tense | Dr. M. Vijaya |
Practice Makes Perfect English Verb Tenses Up Close | Mark Lester |
The Book of English Grammar Tests | Mamta Mehrotra |
The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide | Phil Williams and Bob Wright |
Taking an Exam? Selecting a College?
Get authentic answers from experts, students and alumni that you won't find anywhere else
Sign Up on ShikshaOn Shiksha, get access to
- 65k Colleges
- 1.2k Exams
- 688k Reviews
- 1800k Answers