Use the past continuous for an action in progress at a specific past moment, as in I was cooking at 7pm, and the past perfect continuous for an action that was in progress before another past event, as in I had been cooking for an hour when they arrived. The past perfect continuous always comes before the second past event.
Grammar Rule
The past continuous describes an action in progress at a specific past moment; the past perfect continuous describes an action in progress before another past event.
Past Continuous vs Past Perfect Continuous: Rules and Examples
| Tense | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past Continuous | was/were + verb-ing | I was cooking at 7pm. They were watching TV when the phone rang. |
| Past Perfect Continuous | had been + verb-ing | I had been cooking for an hour when they arrived. She had been working there for years before she resigned. |
Remember: was/were + verb-ing for one past moment; had been + verb-ing for duration before another past event.
Practice Test
Instructions
Answer each question in the test below choosing correctly between the past continuous and the past perfect continuous. You will get a new random set of questions every time you retake the test, plus a downloadable results summary with your name and score at the end.
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
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Frequently Asked Questions
When do you use the past continuous instead of the past perfect continuous?
Use the past continuous for an action in progress at one specific past moment, as in I was cooking at 7pm.
When do you use the past perfect continuous instead of the past continuous?
Use the past perfect continuous for an action that was already in progress before another past event happened, as in I had been cooking for an hour when they arrived.
How do you form the past perfect continuous?
Use had been plus the -ing form of the verb, the same for every subject, as in she had been working there for years.
Can both tenses appear in the same sentence?
Yes, often with when or before, showing that one action was already in progress before the other one happened.