Past Perfect
I ___________ (finish) my paper before my teacher _____________ (ask) for it.
I had finished my paper before my teacher asked for it.
They ________________ (work) for a bank for 5 years.
They had been working for a bank for 5 years.
I ___________ (sleep) when the phone ___________ (ring).
I was sleeping when the phone rang.
I _________________ (study) English for 3 months.
I have been studying English for 3 months.
This tense is used to talk about two activities that started and finished at different times in the past.
Past Perfect
The criminal _______________ (leave) the room before the police ______________ (arrive).
The criminal had left the room before the police arrived.
It _______________ (be) wet outside because it _________________ (rain) for 2 hours.
It was wet outside because it had been raining for 2 hours.
They ______________ (wait) for the bus when they ____________________ (see) an accident.
They were waiting for the bust when they saw an accident.
I _______________ (eat) too much Canadian food for 2 weeks.
I have been eating too much Canadian food for 2 weeks.
This tense is used to add descriptions in stories.
Past Continuous
I ________________ (be) very tired because I _______________ (not, sleep) all night.
I was very tired because I hadn't / had not slept all night.
We __________________ (look) for the bus for 10 minutes when we ________________ (find) the bus stop.
We had been looking for the bus for 10 minutes when we found the bus stop.
The birds ______________ (chirp) and the sun _________________ (rise) when Mary __________ (wake) up that morning.
The birds were chirping and the sun was rising when Mary woke up that morning.
You have been walking in the rain for 20 minutes.
You have been hiking up a wet mountain all day.
You have been running close to the beech for an hour and got wet from the waves.
This tense is used to talk about an event that happens in the past and continues into another event in the past.
Past Perfect Continuous
This tense is used to talk about an event that happened in the past and continues into the present.