1. Verb Tenses: The Past Perfect Continuous Created by Kathryn Reilly

2. Verb Tense Background Verbs change their form to allow writers to accurately describe events. Verbs alert the reader if the action is in the past, present or future. Within these three main time frames, actions can be further broken down.

3. The Past Perfect Continuous The past perfect continuous describes an event that took place over a period in the past before another past event took place. This tense helps writers to convey the sequence of events. To create the past perfect continuous, two auxiliary verbs are needed: had and been.

4. Creating the Past Perfect Continuous To create the past perfect continuous tense: Subject + auxiliary verb had + auxiliary verb been + -ing verb Hope had been baking cookies when the doorbell rang. Here, the subject was baking before the doorbell rang; however both these events are in the past. I had been celebrating my birthday when President Obama won the election! Here, the subject was celebrating before President Obama won the election; however both events are in the past.

5. Past Perfect Continuous Examples The past perfect continuous tense describes a longer event before another event in the past. – Sara had not been expecting anyone when she heard a knock at the door. – We had been collecting evidence at the crime scene since 2 a.m.

6. Be Aware… …when phrasing a question in the past perfect continuous tense, the auxiliary verb had should begin the question followed by the subject. – Had they been eavesdropping when the officer discovered them? – Had Jon been ignoring his phone for days?