grammar · neutral
had been + V-ing
Describes an action that was ongoing for a period of time before another past event.
Examples
“By the time the teacher arrived, I had been studying for two hours.”
“They had been living in Hanoi for five years before they moved abroad.”
“She was tired because she had been running all morning.”
Band 8 sentence
“By the time the conference began, we had been preparing the presentation for weeks, so everything ran smoothly.”
Collocations
- for + time
- since + point
Common mistakes
I was studying for two hours before he arrived.→I had been studying for two hours before he arrived.
She had studied all morning before the test.→She had been studying all morning before the test.
Say it for a higher band
5subject + V2 (past simple)→6was/were + V-ing→7+had been + V-ing
Synonyms
past perfect simple (had + V3)
Easily confused
was/were + V-ing
“When he phoned, I was watching TV.”
Related words
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In Tenses
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