CHAPTER 6.  THE PAST CONTINUOUS, THE PAST PERFECT AND THE
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
1. Summary of the uses of the English tenses
There are four types of verb tense in English: the Simple, the Continuous, the Perfect, and
the Perfect Continuous. Each type of tense has a Present, a Past, and a Future form, as
well as other modal forms.
Thus, just as there are four present tenses in English, there are also four past tenses: the
Simple Past, the Past Continuous, the Past Perfect, and the Past Perfect Continuous.
As will be shown below, the three forms of each type of tense are closely related in terms
of their use and formation. For instance, the Present Continuous, Past Continuous, and
Future Continuous tenses are all used to express continuous, ongoing actions; and are all
formed from the verb to be followed by the present participle. The differences are that
the Present Continuous is formed with the Simple Present of the verb to be, and is used
mainly to express present actions; the Past Continuous is formed with the Simple Past of
the verb to be, and is used to express past actions; and the Future Continuous is formed
with the Simple Future of the verb to be, and is used to express future actions.
The uses of the Simple, Continuous, Perfect, and Perfect Continuous tenses are
summarized in the following table.
The Uses of the English Tenses
Type of Tense
Simple
 
 
 
Continuous
 
Perfect
 
Perfect Continuous

Type of Action Expressed

- actions occurring at regular intervals
- general truths, or situations existing for a period of time
- non-continuous actions
 
- continuous, ongoing actions
 
- non-continuous actions completed before a certain time
 
- continuous, ongoing actions completed before a certain time
2. The past continuous

a. Use
The Past Continuous tense is used to express continuous, ongoing actions which took
place in the past. In the following examples, the verbs in the Past Continuous tense are
underlined.
e.g. He was traveling in Europe last summer.
      They were playing tennis yesterday afternoon.
The Past Continuous tense is frequently used to refer to an ongoing action which was
taking place when something else occurred in the past.
e.g. I was washing the dishes when the telephone rang.
      We were entertaining friends when the parcel arrived.

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In the first example, the use of the Past Continuous tense indicates that the action of
washing the dishes was taking place at the time when the telephone rang. In the second
example, the use of the Past Continuous tense indicates that the action of entertaining
friends was taking place at the time when the parcel arrived.
b. Formation

The Past Continuous tense is formed from the Simple Past of the auxiliary to be,
followed by the present participle of the verb. For example, the Past Continuous of the
verb to work is conjugated as follows:
I was working
you were working
he was working
she was working
it was working
we were working
they were working
c. Questions and negative statements
As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative
statements in the Past Continuous are formed using the auxiliary.
Questions are formed by placing the auxiliary before the subject. For
example:
Affirmative Statement
  I was working.
  They were working.

Question
  Was I working?
  Were they working?

Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the
auxiliary. For example:
Affirmative Statement
  I was working.
  They were working.

Negative Statement

  I was not working.
  They were not working.

In spoken English, the contractions wasn't and weren't are often used.
Negative questions are formed by placing the auxiliary before the subject, and the word
not after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not
immediately follows the auxiliary. The following are examples of
negative questions with and without contractions:
Without Contractions
  Was I not working?
  Were they not working?

With Contractions
  Wasn't I working?
  Weren't they working?

Tag questions are formed using the auxiliary. In the following
examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are
usually used in negative tag questions. For example:
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Affirmative Statement
  I was working.
  They were working.
 

Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
  I was working, wasn't I?
  They were working, weren't they?

3. The past perfect

a. Use
The Past Perfect tense is used to refer to a non-continuous action in the past, which was
already completed by the time another action in the past took place. In the following
examples, the verbs in the Past Perfect tense are underlined.
e.g. She had heard the news before I saw her.
      I had finished my work by the time the clock struck twelve.
In the preceding examples, the verbs had heard and had finished are in the Past Perfect
tense, and the verbs saw and struck are in the Simple Past. The use of the Past Perfect
tense indicates that the actions of hearing the news and finishing the work were already
completed by the time the actions expressed by the verbs in the Simple Past took place.
b. Formation
The Past Perfect tense is formed from the Simple Past of the auxiliary to have, followed
by the past participle of the verb.
The Simple Past of to have is had. In spoken English, the auxiliary had is often
contracted to 'd. For example, the Past Perfect of the verb to work is conjugated as
follows:
Without Contractions
 
  I had worked
  you had worked
  he had worked
  she had worked
  it had worked
  we had worked
  they had worked

With Contractions
 

  I'd worked
  you'd worked
  he'd worked
  she'd worked
  it'd worked
  we'd worked
  they'd worked

The contraction it'd is less frequently used than the other contractions, since it is more
difficult to pronounce.
c. Questions and negative statements
As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative
statements in the Past Perfect tense are formed using the auxiliary.
Questions are formed by placing the auxiliary before the subject. For
example:
Affirmative Statement
  I had worked.
  They had worked.

Question
  Had I worked?
  Had they worked?

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Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the auxiliary. For
example:
Affirmative Statement
  I had worked.

  They had worked.

Negative Statement
  I had not worked.
  They had not worked.

In spoken English, the following contraction is often used:
Without Contraction
  had not

With Contraction
  hadn't

Negative questions are formed by placing the auxiliary before the subject, and the word
not after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not
follows immediately after the auxiliary. For example:
Without Contraction
  Had I not worked?
  Had they not worked?

With Contraction
  Hadn't I worked?
  Hadn't they worked?

Tag questions are formed using the auxiliary. In the following
examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are
usually used in negative tag questions.
Affirmative Statement
  I had worked.
  They had worked.


Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
  I had worked, hadn't I?
  They had worked, hadn't they?
4. The past perfect continuous

a. Use
The Past Perfect Continuous tense is used to refer to a continuous, ongoing action in the
past which was already completed by the time another action in the past took place. In the
following examples, the verbs in the Past Perfect Continuous tense are underlined.
e.g. I had been waiting for two months by the time I received the reply.
      He had been thinking about his friends shortly before they called.
In the preceding examples, the verbs had been waiting and had been thinking are in the
Past Perfect Continuous tense, and the verbs received and called are in the Simple Past.
The use of the Past Perfect Continuous tense indicates that the actions of waiting and
thinking were continuous, and were completed by the time the actions expressed by the
verbs in the Simple Past took place.
b. Formation
The Past Perfect Continuous tense is formed from the Past Perfect of the auxiliary to be,
followed by the present participle of the verb. For example, the Past Perfect Continuous
tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:
I had been working
you had been working
he had been working
she had been working
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it had been working
we had been working

they had been working
The auxiliary had is often contracted to 'd in spoken English.
c. Questions and negative statements
As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative
statements in the Past Perfect Continuous tense are formed using the
first auxiliary.
Questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject.
For example:
Affirmative Statement
  I had been working.
  They had been working.

Question
  Had I been working?
  Had they been working?

Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the first auxiliary.
For example:
Affirmative Statement
  I had been working.
  They had been working.

Negative Statement
  I had not been working.
  They had not been working.

Negative questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject, and the
word not after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of
not follows immediately after the first auxiliary. For example:
Without Contractions

  Had I not been working?
  Had they not been working?

With Contractions
  Hadn't I been working?
  Hadn't they been working?

Tag questions are formed using the first auxiliary. In the following
examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are
usually used in negative tag questions.
Affirmative Statement
  I had been working.
  They had been working.

Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
  I had been working, hadn't I?
  They had been working, hadn't they?

5. Summary of the formation of the English present and past tenses
The following table summarizes the formation of the English present
and past tenses.
Tense
Simple Present
Present Continuous
Present Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous

Auxiliary
do/does *
am/is/are

have/has
have/has  been

Verb Form
bare infinitive **
present participle
past participle
present participle
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Simple Past
Past Continuous
Past Perfect
Past Perfect Continuous

 
did *
was/were
had
had been

 
bare infinitive ***
present participle
past participle
present participle

* In the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses, the auxiliaries are used only for

emphasis, and for the formation of questions and negative statements. Auxiliaries are
never used with the Simple Present or Simple Past of the verb to be.
** When used without the auxiliary, the third person singular of the Simple Present has
the ending s.
*** When the verb is used without the auxiliary, the Simple Past form of the verb is used.
For regular verbs, and for many irregular verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the
past participle.
6. Emphatic statements
In spoken English, words can be emphasized by being pronounced with a heavier stress
than usual. This type of emphasis is usually indicated in written English by means of
italics or underlining. In the following examples, emphasized words are indicated by
means of underlining.
Emphatic statements are often used in conversation; for instance, when one speaker is
contradicting another.
e.g. "I don't believe he works very hard."
      "Yes, he does work hard."
When it is desired to emphasize a verb, it is generally the first auxiliary which is stressed.
For instance, in the sentence I am working hard, the verb can be emphasized by
stressing the auxiliary am.
e.g. I am working hard.
Usually, no auxiliary is required for affirmative statements in the Simple Present and
Simple Past. However, in order to make such statements emphatic, for verbs other than
the verb to be, the auxiliary to do is used, followed by the bare infinitive. For example, in
the Simple Present, the emphatic form of the verb to work is formed with the Simple
Present of the auxiliary to do, as shown below:
Affirmative Statement
Emphatic Affirmative Statement
  I work.
  I do work.
  You work.

  You do work.
  He works.
  He does work.
  She works.
  She does work.
  It works.
  It does work.
  We work.
  We do work.
  They work.
  They do work.
In the Simple Past, the emphatic form of the verb to work is formed with the Simple Past
of the auxiliary to do, as shown below:
Affirmative Statement

Emphatic Affirmative Statement
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  I worked.
  You worked.
  He worked.
  She worked.
  It worked.
  We worked.
  They worked.

  I did work.
  You did work.
  He did work.

  She did work.
  It did work.
  We did work.
  They did work.

For the emphatic form of the Simple Present of the verb to be, no auxiliary is used.
Instead, the verb itself is stressed. For example:
Affirmative Statement
  I am ready.
  It is ready.
  They are ready.

Emphatic Affirmative Statement
  I am ready.
  It is ready.
  They are ready.

Similarly, for the emphatic form of the Simple Past of the verb to be, no auxiliary is
used. Instead, the verb itself is stressed. For example:
Affirmative Statement
  I was ready.
  It was ready.
  They were ready.

Emphatic Affirmative Statement
  I was ready.
  It was ready.
  They were ready.

Examples of emphatic statements in all of the present and past tenses

are given in the following table:
Tense
  Simple Present
  Present Continuous
  Present Perfect
  Present Perfect Continuous
 
  Simple Past
  Past Continuous
  Past Perfect
  Past Perfect Continuous
 
  Simple Present of to be
  Simple Past of to be

Affirmative Statement
  I work.
  I am working.
  I have worked.
  I have been working.
 
  I worked.
  I was working.
  I had worked.
  I had been working.
 
  I am ready.
  I was ready.

Emphatic Statement

  I do work.
  I am working.
  I have worked.
  I have been working.
 
  I did work.
  I was working.
  I had worked.
  I had been working.
 
  I am ready.
  I was ready.

It should be noted that questions may be emphasized in the same way as statements.
e.g. Did it work?
      Are they ready?
Sometimes it is desired to emphasize a negative statement containing the word not. In
spoken English, often both the auxiliary and the word not are stressed, but in written
English, usually only the word not is underlined or written in italics. For
example:
Negative Statement
  He does not know the answer.

Emphatic Negative Statement
  He does not know the answer.
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When a contracted form of the word not is used, it is generally the auxiliary
which is stressed in an emphatic statement. For example:

Negative Statement
  He doesn't know the answer.

Emphatic Negative Statement
  He doesn't know the answer.

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