How To Use Past Perfect Tenses | SIMPLE or CONTINUOUS
How To Use Past Perfect Tenses | SIMPLE or CONTINUOUS
Do the Past Perfect Tenses confuse you? Wondering what’s the difference between the simple and continuous forms? Let’s practice!
In today’s English Grammar Lesson, I’ll go over the past perfect continuous usage, pronunciation \u0026 examples. PLUS we’ll compare the past perfect simple, so you know the differences and when you should use them!
As usual, there’s a QUIZ to help you practice at the end!
Read the full transcript of this lesson on my blog here:
https://www.mmmenglish.com/2021/01/28…
#mmmEnglish #PastPerfectTense #PastPerfect #PastPerfectContinuous #EnglishGrammar #EnglishGrammarPractice #EnglishTeacher #EnglishWithEmma
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Content
6.08 -> Welcome back to the mmmEnglish Youtube Channel,
9.352 -> I'm your coach, Emma and today we're going to focus on the
13.315 -> language that you need to tell stories in English
16.931 -> which is a fundamental communication skill, isn't it?
21.12 -> When we tell stories, whether they're based on real experiences or
25.41 -> they're made up stories to entertain others,
28 -> we're usually talking about something that happened in the past,
32.56 -> a past event.
34.56 -> So knowing how to accurately use the past tenses is really useful
40.66 -> but it's also going to help you to tell stories in an interesting
44.077 -> and engaging way.
45.631 -> You might have seen narrative tenses in English textbooks.
49.942 -> So this refers to verb tenses that are used to talk about the past
55.734 -> and help you to tell a story.
57.94 -> So in this lesson today we are going to take a close look at the
61.803 -> past perfect continuous and of course, I'm going to share
65.533 -> the similarities and differences between this tense
68.88 -> and the past perfect because they're kind of similar.
72.32 -> Even though this is a grammar lesson,
74.07 -> we're going to do some pronunciation practice and have some fun
77.526 -> along the way and make sure you stick with me to the end,
81.44 -> I've got a mini quiz to help you practise everything you learn
84.763 -> in this lesson. Let's get to it!
87.171 -> Before we get started today, I'd like to give a little shout out to our
90.716 -> good friends at Lingoda who are huge supporters of
94.065 -> the mmmEnglish channel and without them,
96.946 -> this lesson just wouldn't be possible.
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143.411 -> and with group classes costing just eight euros a class,
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150.67 -> Now Lingoda offer plenty of options to suit your learning goals
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165.419 -> Now if this sounds like something you'd be interested in
168 -> make sure you check out the link down in the description below.
171.36 -> I'm also going to add the link to their Instagram feed as well
174.984 -> because that's where you can find some real stories
178.618 -> about students of Lingoda including me.
181.44 -> And if you do decide to jump in
183.353 -> and try out Lingoda, make sure you use this code right here
187.112 -> which is going to give you a super cool twenty euro discount
190.539 -> on your first month which is definitely
193.321 -> a great way to get started in 2021.
197.36 -> Now narrative tenses, like I said earlier is just another way
201.696 -> to talk about the past tenses and so they include
205.517 -> the past simple, the past continuous, the past perfect
210.188 -> and the past perfect continuous.
213.12 -> And a narrative is a spoken or a written account
217.377 -> of connected events. A story.
220.745 -> And these tenses help us to give accurate information about
225.024 -> how and when events happened in the past
228.516 -> so the past perfect continuous gives us very specific
232.177 -> information about the state of the action
235.76 -> and when I say state, I'm talking about whether or not that action
240.01 -> or that event has started,
243.12 -> if it was in progress or it was complete
248.044 -> at a particular moment in the past.
250.739 -> So it helps us to order our stories
253.12 -> but it'll be much easier if I show you an example
256.719 -> so that you can see what I'm talking about.
259.52 -> Last week, I went for a bike ride.
263.055 -> I saw my friend Paul.
264.939 -> So these two sentences are both written in the past simple
269.162 -> aren't they? They're completed actions. They're finished.
273.165 -> When we put them on a timeline we can see that
275.62 -> they both took place at some point in the past but
280.48 -> we don't know when or which one happened first, do we?
285.004 -> So by using a combination of narrative tenses
288.051 -> we can be more precise about how and when these actions
291.827 -> took place so if we use the past perfect continuous,
296.194 -> we're going to bring our story to life.
298.977 -> I had been riding my bike when I saw my friend Paul.
302.834 -> So when I put one of these actions into the
305.726 -> past perfect continuous,
308.282 -> it becomes really clear that the bike riding started
313.059 -> before I met Paul and at the moment in time when I met Paul
319.84 -> the bike riding was incomplete.
322.928 -> I hadn't finished riding my bike when I saw Paul.
326.96 -> So the past perfect continuous describes an event
331.993 -> an event that started before a particular moment in time
336.186 -> and it was still in progress at that time in the past.
342.522 -> Let's look at another example.
344.88 -> She had been working in the garden
347.152 -> when it started to rain.
349.911 -> So at that moment,
351.944 -> at the moment it started to rain
353.862 -> what was the state of the action working?
357.833 -> Had she finished working in the garden?
360.8 -> No, when the rain started, the gardening or working in the garden
365.876 -> was incomplete. There was still more work
369.072 -> to be done. It wasn't finished.
371.863 -> Now if you've been paying attention, you've probably already
374.96 -> noticed what goes into a past perfect continuous
378.907 -> sentence. They use the auxiliary verbs had and been
384.08 -> along with the main verb which is in -ing form.
388.226 -> Let's just go back to those original examples.
391.36 -> I had been riding my bike when I saw my friend Paul.
395.468 -> She had been working in the garden
397.588 -> when it started to rain.
399.822 -> Now you can create negative sentences by putting not
403.902 -> between had and being.
406.24 -> Had not been.
408.411 -> I had not been riding my bike.
411.302 -> She hadn't been working in the garden.
414.8 -> So before we go any further why don't you take a moment
418.358 -> just to write a few sentences
420.498 -> with this tense just to practise the structure,
423.111 -> add them down into the comments below.
425.423 -> I'll be down there to review them and give a little bit of help
428.092 -> if you need it.
434.16 -> And before we go any further in this lesson, I want to take a
437.602 -> few moments to focus on your pronunciation to make sure that
441.346 -> when you are using this tense you're sounding natural and relaxed
446.32 -> just like me or any other native English speaker
449.067 -> and using contractions with the past perfect continuous is
453.496 -> definitely going to help.
454.937 -> Now if you've watched my lesson about auxiliary verbs
458.465 -> which is up here if you need it,
460.496 -> you'll know that auxiliary verbs are usually
463.634 -> unstressed and it changes the way that they are spoken.
468 -> They are usually connected to the subject in spoken English
471.645 -> and that makes a contraction.
473.982 -> In a past perfect continuous sentence
477.081 -> there are two auxiliary verbs had and being
480.81 -> but had is the one that is contracted to the subject
485.76 -> so it's very natural to say I'd instead of I had,
491.539 -> you'd instead of you had,
494.942 -> she'd, he'd, we'd
499.68 -> they'd
501.305 -> and the trickiest one, it'd.
506.136 -> Try it.
507.888 -> It'd been raining all day.
512.08 -> Now the verb been is also an auxillary verb
515.597 -> and although it doesn't get contracted in the same way that
518.824 -> had does, it's also unstressed in spoken English
522.723 -> so you won't really hear people saying
525.528 -> been, they had been here.
528.357 -> What you'll actually hear is been.
533.2 -> Been with a short vowel sound.
535.51 -> I'd been doing the shopping.
537.828 -> You'd been listening to music.
541.28 -> He'd been cooking.
543.367 -> It'd been raining.
545.732 -> You get the idea.
546.88 -> Usually at this point I'd continue on and show you how all
550.211 -> of these contractions sound in the negative form as well
554.32 -> but I've got something that might come as a bit of a surprise.
559.334 -> The past perfect continuous is actually not very common
563.678 -> in spoken English.
566.047 -> It just sounds quite formal in spoken language,
569.527 -> maybe it's all of those auxiliary verbs
572.438 -> so you'll often hear people using the past continuous
576.4 -> just to sound a little bit more natural.
578.95 -> Now if you really want to get some pronunciation practice
582.338 -> with past perfect contractions, you can check out this lesson
586.404 -> up here where I go into it in a lot more detail.
589.705 -> Okay so let's talk about some of the most common mistakes
593.553 -> that my students are making with this tense
596.54 -> and actually, there are two of them the first one is using verbs that
602.32 -> can't be used in the continuous tense.
605.55 -> Yeah not all verbs can be used in the continuous tense
610.16 -> like this sentence here, something's not quite right about it.
615.861 -> The verb see just like other verbs of the senses
620.243 -> like taste and smell, these are stative verbs
625.072 -> and stative verbs describe a state of being rather than an action
630.503 -> and usually they can't be used in the continuous tense.
634.48 -> This sentence is going to sound so much better if we use an action
638.368 -> verb instead.
639.896 -> I'd been watching the waves when I bumped into Paul.
644.261 -> Or if you really want to use the verb see then just switch the tense.
648.607 -> I saw the waves crashing into the shore
651.479 -> and later I bumped into Paul.
654.88 -> The second mistake that I see my students making all of the time
659.04 -> is this one.
661.247 -> She has been working in the garden
663.517 -> when it started to rain.
665.76 -> Can you see what's wrong with this one?
668.594 -> This is the present perfect continuous, the past perfect uses had.
673.967 -> No matter what the subject is, we use had in the past perfect.
679.638 -> You're used to conjugating verbs for the third person singular
683.507 -> subjects in English, she, he and it
687.85 -> but not with the past perfect.
690.713 -> You only use had no matter what the subject.
695.84 -> You're probably feeling pretty confident with this tense by now
699.923 -> but you might be wondering
702.08 -> well how is this tense different from the past perfect simple?
706.451 -> Well there are three ways to compare these two tenses
710.286 -> and I'm going to go through it right now. Are you ready?
712.916 -> The first difference to remember is that the past perfect
716.393 -> shows a completed action whereas the past perfect continuous
721.36 -> shows an incomplete action.
723.812 -> We had just been for a bike ride when we bumped into Paul.
727.724 -> Or we could also say:
729.771 -> We had been riding our bikes when we bumped into Paul.
734.359 -> So in the first example
735.934 -> we're using the past perfect simple
738.698 -> to explain that the bike ride was complete when we met Paul.
743.157 -> We're not riding anymore the ride is over
746.762 -> but in the second example,
748.592 -> the past perfect continuous
751.236 -> tells us that the bike ride is still in progress.
754.219 -> It's an incomplete action.
756.883 -> Is that clear? Good.
759.417 -> However both of these tenses can actually express
763.751 -> a completed action, especially when we're using them
767.794 -> with the adverbs for and since which is really common
771.849 -> in perfect tenses, isn't it? Let's have a look at an example.
776.481 -> I had been cleaning for hours to prepare for the party.
780.33 -> Or we could say I had cleaned for hours to prepare for the party.
786.72 -> The meaning is almost the same in both sentences
790.272 -> but the emphasis shifts just ever so slightly
794.548 -> because the past perfect continuous helps us to emphasise
798.171 -> the duration or the length of the action,
801.2 -> you know, I spent a long time cleaning and now finally
805.15 -> the house is clean.
806.948 -> The past perfect sentence emphasises that the action is complete
812.073 -> so I've finished cleaning and as a result
815.2 -> the house is ready for the party.
818.24 -> Now in reality, in many situations, you can use either the past
822.32 -> perfect or the past perfect continuous
825.175 -> and it's just that subtle difference in meaning that makes
828.767 -> your sentences a little more powerful.
831.872 -> Now the third difference that you need to be aware of
835.38 -> is about how that action is viewed.
839.454 -> Is it a temporary action or is it a permanent one?
843.12 -> He had lived in London for five years.
846.24 -> Now in that sentence we view the action as being permanent
850.543 -> using the past perfect but compare that to:
854.219 -> He had been living in London for five years.
857.748 -> Now in that sentence we view the action as being temporary.
862.752 -> It's so subtle. It's not the meaning of the sentence that changes.
867.449 -> Both of those sentences are correct, there's just a teeny tiny shift
871.458 -> in the way that we view the action, whether it's temporary
875.025 -> or it's permanent. Let me give you another example.
878.72 -> My brother had been working in a restaurant for two years
882.476 -> when he decided to study medicine.
884.96 -> So I'm using the past perfect continuous here because
888.998 -> I think of that job as being temporary.
892.32 -> Now, on the other hand, my brother would say:
896.021 -> I had worked in the restaurant industry for two years
900 -> before I started studying medicine.
902.269 -> So he's using the past perfect because he viewed that action
907.432 -> that work as being permanent. He thought that that career
912.311 -> would be a permanent one in the restaurant industry.
915.501 -> So you can see that there isn't always a right or a wrong answer,
919.867 -> sometimes it just comes down to emphasis or perception
924.82 -> and the way that you choose to communicate your story.
928.068 -> The way that you choose to express something might actually be
931.256 -> different to the way that someone else does
934.32 -> and that's okay.
936.298 -> All right I think it's time for a quiz now. We've gone through
939.733 -> how to accurately use the past perfect continuous tense.
944.065 -> Now let's practise actually using it together.
952.24 -> I'm going to give you two events or two actions and both of these
957.087 -> things have taken place in the past so all you need to do is
960.899 -> join them together into one sentence and make sure you use
965.172 -> the past perfect continuous.
967.698 -> So for example, the first event is we played football.
972.508 -> This is the thing that was happening first but then
976.37 -> something else happened. It started to rain.
979.204 -> So your answer could be:
981.057 -> We had been playing football when it started to rain.
985.472 -> Okay so now it's your turn to write these sentences.
988.56 -> I want you to write them down in the comments below
991.514 -> so I can come down and check them for you,
994.272 -> give you some feedback if you need them.
996.167 -> I'm not going to go through the answers in this video.
999.44 -> So the first event: We waited for the bus for an hour.
1003.904 -> And the second event: The bus finally arrived.
1009.12 -> Hit pause if you need to, write your sentence down below.
1013.68 -> Okay try this one.
1015.255 -> He worked at the supermarket for a long time.
1018.686 -> One day he became the manager.
1023.778 -> They spent the whole afternoon cooking
1026.116 -> but the dinner guests cancelled.
1030.72 -> So how did you do? I hope that this lesson has helped to make
1034.303 -> the past perfect continuous a little clearer
1037.781 -> and hopefully, you feel a bit more comfortable using it now.
1040.945 -> Another really great way for you to practise and become
1043.737 -> more familiar with this tense is through your writing.
1047.892 -> Even if it's as simple and mundane as writing about what you did
1052.417 -> during the day, it's an awesome opportunity to practise
1055.961 -> using narrative tenses to help you accurately tell the story
1060.556 -> of your day in order so that it's clear
1063.812 -> when and how these events happened in relation to each other.
1068.08 -> If you haven't already subscribed to the channel yet,
1070.56 -> make sure you do, turn on notifications so that you know
1074.456 -> as soon as I've got a new lesson ready for you. I've got some really
1077.888 -> great grammar lessons coming up that are going to help you to
1080.473 -> improve your accuracy over the next several weeks.
1084.259 -> I'll be back next week with a brand new lesson
1087.563 -> but while you're waiting, why not check out this one right here?
1091.629 -> I'll see you in there!
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey0JqLSfCdA