Easy Past Perfect Continuous Tense Worksheets for Students

Learning English grammar can feel tricky, but one of the best ways to master any tense is through practice. That’s exactly where past perfect continuous tense worksheets come in handy. These exercises not only strengthen your grammar but also train you to recognize verb forms, much like an identify tense worksheet helps students spot the correct tense. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know definitions, structures, rules, examples, worksheets, and exercises (with answers!).

What Is the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense (also called the past perfect progressive tense) is used to show that an action:

1. Started in the past
2. Continued for some time
3. Ended before another action or point in the past

Example:

She had been studying for hours before her friends arrived.

Definition (From Dictionaries)

• Oxford Learner’s Dictionary: “An action or a situation that continued for a period of time before another action or situation in the past.”
• Cambridge Dictionary: “Actions or events which started before a particular time in the past and were still in progress up to that time.”

Formula & Structure of Past Perfect Continuous

The general formula is:

Subject + had + been + present participle (verb+ing) + rest of sentence

Structure in Different Sentences:

Sentence Type	Formula	Example
Positive	Subject + had + been + V+ing	She had been waiting for two hours.
Negative	Subject + had + not + been + V+ing	They had not been practicing enough.
Interrogative	Had + subject + been + V+ing?	Had he been studying before the test?
Negative Interrogative	Hadn’t + subject + been + V+ing?	Hadn’t you been working on the project?

Rules for Using the Past Perfect Continuous

• Always use “had been” (never has/have been).
• The main verb takes the -ing form (present participle).
• Use it to connect two past actions: one ongoing, one interrupting.
• For negatives, add not after had.
• In questions, start with Had.

Uses of the Past Perfect Continuous

You’ll usually see this tense used for two purposes:

1. Cause and Effect in the Past

He was exhausted because he had been working all day.

2. Ongoing Action Before Another Past Event

We had been living in New York for four years before moving to Spain.

Examples of Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Function 1: Showing cause of a past action

• Asha was tired because she had been studying all night.
• George was annoyed as he had been waiting for hours.

Function 2: Ongoing action until another past action

• I had been preparing for IELTS before I shifted focus to TOEFL.
• She had been working at the college for five years before she moved to Pollachi.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense Worksheets

Time to practice! These worksheets will help you apply what you just learned. Each worksheet comes with answers to cross-check.

Worksheet 1 – Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the past perfect continuous tense.

1. They __________ (argue) for an hour before the teacher arrived.
2. She was nervous because she __________ (wait) for the results all day.
3. I __________ (study) grammar before I joined the language course.
4. We __________ (travel) through Europe before the lockdown started.
5. He was tired because he __________ (work) in the garden since morning.

Answers:

1. had been arguing
2. had been waiting
3. had been studying
4. had been traveling
5. had been working

Worksheet 2 – Rewrite the Sentences

Change the sentences into past perfect continuous tense.

1. She practiced the piano.
2. They played football.
3. I studied for the exam.
4. He repaired his bike.
5. We watched TV.

Answers:

1. She had been practicing the piano.
2. They had been playing football.
3. I had been studying for the exam.
4. He had been repairing his bike.
5. We had been watching TV.

Worksheet 3 – Multiple Choice (MCQs)

Choose the correct answer.

1. She was sweating because she _________ (had run / had been running / ran).
2. They _________ (had lived / had been living / lived) there before moving abroad.
3. We were tired because we _________ (had been working / worked / had worked).
4. He _________ (had been studying / had studied / studied) all morning.
5. I was upset because she _________ (had been lying / lied / was lying).

Answers:

1. had been running
2. had been living
3. had been working
4. had been studying
5. had been lying

Worksheet 4 – True or False

State whether the sentences are correct. If false, correct them.

1. Ram had been working at the factory for two years before leaving for Australia. (✔️ True)
2. The dogs had been barked until the owner arrived. (❌ False → The dogs had been barking…)
3. She had been preparing for IELTS before she moved abroad. (✔️ True)
4. They had been resided in India for many years. (❌ False → They had been residing/living…)

Comparison: Past Continuous vs Past Perfect Continuous

Aspect	Past Continuous	Past Perfect Continuous
Formula	was/were + V+ing	had been + V+ing
Usage	Action ongoing at a past time	Action ongoing before another past action
Example	They were playing football at 5 PM.	They had been playing football before the rain started.

Common Mistakes Learners Make

1. She has been waiting for two hours before he arrived.
2. Correction: She had been waiting for two hours before he arrived.

1. They was been studying all night.
2. Correction: They had been studying all night.

1. I had been work since morning.
2. Correction: I had been working since morning.

Conclusion:

Mastering the past perfect continuous tense worksheets becomes much easier when students engage with structured practice activities. The combination of tense fill in the blanks, rewriting sentences, multiple-choice questions, and true/false exercises ensures that learners don’t just memorize rules but actually understand how to apply them in real situations.

By practicing regularly with these worksheets, you’ll build confidence, improve accuracy, and develop a strong grasp of how to form and use the past perfect continuous tense correctly in both spoken and written English.

Frequently Asked Questions