1 CONTINUOUS TENSES

The past, present and future all have continuous tenses and simple tenses.

Generally speaking, we use the continuous form when we are talking about

continuous actions, and the simple tense when we are talking about habits

or "BAM" actions.

For example, when you’re telling a story or describing a scene, we use the

continuous tenses. They describe a situation before something exciting (a

"BAM" action) happens.

➡ The sun was shining, the birds were singing, everyone was smiling and I

said to myself, what a beautiful day.

➡ I was cooking and my daughters were playing and I head a loud noise!

2 IT WAS RAINING v IT HAD BEEN RAINING

It was raining when I left the house.

This is the past continuous, and we use this to say that a continuous action

was happening when a "BAM" action happened.

It had been raining when I left the house.

This is the past perfect continuous and we use this to say that a continuous

action started AND stopped before the "BAM" action happened. Why was

the ground wet? Because it had been raining.

3 CAN WE SAY 'IT HAD RAINED'?

We're talking about a continuous action (rain), so we can't really use 'it had

rained'. However, there is one exception to this rule, and that is when we

specify a moment in the past when the action finished (e.g. last night, last

week, before breakfast)

It had rained earlier that night. Girls were slipping and falling...(The New

Yorker)

It had rained before the race, and again Citation went off on a sloppy

track. (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Because it had rained late in the afternoon, the museum moved the

concert indoors. – (The New York Times)

E N G L I S H W I T H G R E G . C O M
4 IT HAD RAINED v IT HAD BEEN RAINING

In conclusion...

❌ "It had rained when I left the house"

WRONG! Because here we are not specifying a time in the past.

✔︎"It had been raining when I left the house"

CORRECT! A continuous action started and stopped before a BAM action

happened.

✔︎"It had rained earlier in the day, so when I left the house I took an

umbrella with me

CORRECT! Although 'rain' is a continuous action, here I am specifying a

time in the past ("earlier in the day") when this continuous action started

and stopped. For this reason, I can use the past perfect simple.

5 MORE EXAMPLES...

PAST PERFECT

For "BAM" actions that happened before another action happened in the

past

- I had already told everyone when my friend told me it was a secret.

- I walked with a stick on my first day of school because I had broken my leg.

- I bought a dog after my cat had died.

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

For continuous actions that are interrupted by a "BAM" action

- I had been studying all morning when my computer broke.

- He had been drinking when he fell and broke his leg

- I had been learning to drive for 8 months before I passed my driving test.

PAST PERFECT

For continuous actions that started and stopped in a specified time period

in the past, before a "BAM" action happened.

- I had studied all morning so I was well prepared when I entered the exam.

- I had slept badly all week, so on Friday I went to bed early.

- I had lived abroad for 3 months earlier in the year, and returned to

England that autumn.

E N G L I S H W I T H G R E G . C O M
6 TEST!
1. I called my brother while the kids _______________ last night.

a. were sleeping

b. had slept

c. had been sleeping

2. She _______________ for hours when he found her.

a. was crying

b. had cried

c. had been crying

3. I bought the book after my friend _____________ it and really enjoyed it.

a. was reading

b. had read

c. had been reading

4. They _______________ on that project all weekend, and were clearly

disappointed when their boss cancelled it on Monday morning.

a. were working

b. had worked

c. had been working

5. The sun _______________ every day on our holiday, and we didn't want to

come home.

a. was shining

b. had shone

c. had been shining

6. She _______________ for a job for months when she finally found one.

a. was looking

b. had looked

c. had been looking

7 ANSWERS

C.6 B.5 B.4 B .3 C .2 A.1

E N G L I S H W I T H G R E G . C O M