The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past Perfect Continuous образуется с помощью вспомогательного глагола to be в форме Past Perfect ( had been ) и причастия I смыслового глагола:
(+) I (we, you, they, he, she, it) had been writing.
(-) I (we, you, they, he, she, it) had not been writing.
(?) Had I (we, you, they, he, she, it) been writing?
Past Perfect Continuous употребляется:
1. Для выражения прошедшего действия, которое продолжалось в прошлом некоторый период времени, выраженный или подразумеваемый, и закончилось (или могло еще продолжаться) при наступлении второго, более позднего прошедшего действия. Это второе, более позднее прошедшее действие выражается в Past Indefinite . Past Perfect Continuous переводится на русский язык глаголом в прошедшем времени, обычно несовершенного вида:
I had been writing my exercises for two hours when my friend came. – Я писал упражнения (прошедшее действие) два ча ca (указание периода времени), когда пришел мой друг (второе, более позднее прошедшее действие, при наступлении которого первое действие закончилось или могло еще продолжаться).
The new turbine had been working for several hours before we gave it a full load. – Новая турбина работала (прошедшее действие) несколько часов (указание периода времени) до того, как мы дали ей полную нагрузку (второе, более позднее прошедшее действие, при наступлении которого первое действие не закончилось).
The new pump had already been working for two hours when we stopped it for examination. – Новый насос работал (прошедшее действие) два часа (указание продолжительности действия), когда мы его остановили для осмотра (второе, более позднее прошедшее действие, при наступлении которого первое действие прекратилось).
2. Past Perfect Continuous употребляется также для выражения действия, которое продолжалось некоторый период времени в прошлом и закончилось (или еще продолжается) к данному моменту в прошлом. При указании данного момента в прошлом употребляется предлог by:
By three o'clock the new pump had been working for two hours. – К трем часам (указание данного момента в прошлом) насос уже работал (прошедшее действие) два часа (указание продолжительности действия).
Как видно из примеров, при употреблении Past Perfect Continuous, как правило, указывается (или подразумевается), сколько времени прошедшее действие продолжалось до наступления другого прошедшего действия или момента в прошлом. Поэтому Past Perfect Continuous обычно употребляется с такими обозначениями времени, как for ... hours ( days , weeks , months , years и т. д.) – в течение ... часов (дней, недель, месяцев, лет и т. д.); since 1960 – с 1960 года и т. п.
Exercise 57 . Раскройте скобки, используя глаголы в Past Perfect Continuous. Выполните перевод.
1. (…) you (to wait) long before the taxi arrived? 2. Jane said she (to garden) all afternoon. 3. We (to try) to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key. 4. It (to rain) hard for several hours and the streets were very wet. 5. When the police questioned him, John told them he (to work) late in the office that night. 6. Her friends (to think) of calling the police when she walked in. 7. Mr Brown (to work) for 45 years when he finally retired in 2010. 8. The FBI (to look) for the criminal for three years before they caught him. 9. When Sam got home, his hair was still wet because he (to swim). 10. Joe (already to think) about changing his job when he got the offer. 11. We (to travel) for about four hours when I realized that something was wrong with one of the tyres.
Exercise 58 . Выберите правильный вариант: Past Perfect или Past Perfect Continuous.
1. I knew my mother (had done / had been doing) the washing because the washing machine was still working when I got in. 2. By 10.30 the children (had been doing / had done) their homework and were ready to go to bed. 3. My son came home crying because someone (had stolen / had been stealing) his money. 4. She saw empty glasses and cups and realized that three people (had been / had been being) in the room. 5. It was midnight. Tom (had studied / had been studying) for four hours. No wonder he was getting tired. 6. Andy's father bought him a car because he (had been coming / had come) top in the final exam. 7. Clark went to hospital because he (had been cutting / had cut) his hand while he was mending a broken window. 8. Ann's mother shouted at her when she came home late because she (had worried / had been worrying) about her all evening. 9. I was very pleased when my daughter found my watch because I (had been looking / had looked) for it for hours. 10. Henry suddenly realized that the teacher was asking him a question. He couldn't answer because he (had been daydreaming / had daydreamed) for the last five minutes. 11. Robert wrote to the local newspaper about some rare insects which he (had been seeing / had seen) while he was walking in the woods. 12. Mark sent postcards to the new friends he (had made / had been making) while he was attending a language course.