Past Perfect Continuous. Use #1: Duration Before Something in the Past
We use the past perfect continuous to show that
something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past.
“For five minutes” and “for two weeks” are both durations
which can be used with the past perfect continuous. Notice that this is related
to the present perfect continuous; however, the duration does not continue
until now, it stops before something else in the past.
Example: James had been teaching
at the university for more than a year before he left for Asia.-Джеймс преподавал в университете более года, прежде
чем уехал в Азию.
Example: How long had you been waiting to get on
the bus?- Как долго вы ждали,
чтобы сесть в автобус?
