Past Perfect Continuous

Das Past Perfect Continuous betont die Dauer einer Handlung, die vor einer anderen vergangenen Handlung im Gange war.

Bildung

Bejahung

had + been + Verb-ing

Subjekt	Had + Been + Verb-ing
I / You / He / She / It / We / They	had been working

Beispiele:

I had been waiting for an hour when she arrived. (Ich hatte eine Stunde gewartet, als sie ankam.)
She had been studying all night. (Sie hatte die ganze Nacht gelernt.)
They had been living there for 5 years. (Sie hatten dort 5 Jahre gelebt.)

Verneinung

had + not + been + Verb-ing

I hadn’t been sleeping well before the exam. (Ich hatte vor der Prüfung nicht gut geschlafen.)
She hadn’t been working there long. (Sie hatte dort nicht lange gearbeitet.)
They hadn’t been paying attention. (Sie hatten nicht aufgepasst.)

Fragen

Had + Subjekt + been + Verb-ing?

Had you been waiting long? (Hattest du lange gewartet?)
How long had she been working there? (Wie lange hatte sie dort gearbeitet?)
What had they been doing? (Was hatten sie gemacht?)

Wann verwendet man das Past Perfect Continuous?

1. Dauer vor einem vergangenen Ereignis

Wie lange etwas vor etwas anderem im Gange war:

I had been waiting for 2 hours when she finally arrived. (Ich hatte 2 Stunden gewartet, als sie endlich ankam.)
She had been learning English for 10 years before she moved to London. (Sie hatte 10 Jahre Englisch gelernt, bevor sie nach London zog.)
How long had you been living there before you moved? (Wie lange hattest du dort gelebt, bevor du umgezogen bist?)

2. Ursache eines vergangenen Ergebnisses

Handlung, die ein sichtbares Ergebnis in der Vergangenheit verursachte:

Her eyes were red because she had been crying. (Ihre Augen waren rot, weil sie geweint hatte.)
He was tired because he had been working all night. (Er war müde, weil er die ganze Nacht gearbeitet hatte.)
The ground was wet. It had been raining. (Der Boden war nass. Es hatte geregnet.)
She was out of breath. She had been running. (Sie war außer Atem. Sie war gerannt.)

3. Kürzliche andauernde Aktivität vor einem vergangenen Zeitpunkt

Was bis zu einem vergangenen Moment im Gange war:

I had been reading for hours, so I needed a break. (Ich hatte stundenlang gelesen, also brauchte ich eine Pause.)
They had been arguing when I walked in. (Sie hatten gestritten, als ich hereinkam.)
We had been discussing the project all morning. (Wir hatten den ganzen Morgen das Projekt besprochen.)

Past Perfect Simple vs. Continuous

Fokus auf Abschluss vs. Dauer

Past Perfect Simple	Past Perfect Continuous
Fokus auf Abschluss	Fokus auf Dauer
Ergebnis	Prozess
Wie viele?	Wie lange?

Beispiele:

Abschluss (Simple):

I had written 3 emails before lunch. (Anzahl abgeschlossen)
She had read the book before the exam. (fertig gelesen)

Dauer (Continuous):

I had been writing emails all morning. (Dauer)
She had been reading for hours. (andauernde Aktivität)

Dauerhaft vs. Vorübergehend

Dauerhafter (Simple):

She had worked there for 20 years when she retired. (Sie hatte dort 20 Jahre gearbeitet, als sie in Rente ging.)

Vorübergehender (Continuous):

She had been working on a special project. (Sie hatte an einem speziellen Projekt gearbeitet.)

Zustandsverben

Verwende Past Perfect Simple (nicht Continuous) mit Zustandsverben:

I had known her for years. (nicht ~~had been knowing~~)
They had had that car since 2010. (nicht ~~had been having~~)
She had always loved music. (nicht ~~had been loving~~)

Häufige Zeitausdrücke

Ausdruck	Beispiel
for + Dauer	had been waiting for 2 hours (hatte 2 Stunden gewartet)
since + Zeitpunkt	had been living there since 2010 (hatte dort seit 2010 gelebt)
all day/week/morning	had been working all day (hatte den ganzen Tag gearbeitet)
how long	How long had you been waiting? (Wie lange hattest du gewartet?)
before	I had been studying before you called (Ich hatte gelernt, bevor du anriefst)

Häufige Muster