Past Perfect Continuous Tense - Penjelasan Lengkap

Past perfect continuous sering juga disebut past perfect progressive. Banyak yang cukup sulit memahami tense satu ini, khususnya pelajar Indonesia. Hal ini wajar karena dalam tatabahasa Indonesia tidak ditemukan perubahan kata kerja mengikuti perubahan waktu.

Fungsi Past Perfect Continuous

PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

Secara umum past perfect continuous digunakan untuk menceritakan suatu kejadian yang berlangsung (dimulai) di masa lampau ketika ada kejadian lainnya terjadi namun kejadian pertama tetap berlangsung. Ini sangat mirip dengan fungsi dari past continuous. Adapun untuk penjelasan lebih lengkap mengenai fungsi dari past perfect continuous adalah sebagai berikut : 

1. Menceritakan suatu kejadian yang dimulai di suatu waktu di masa lalu dengan durasi yang cukup panjang lalu kemudian ada kejadian lain yang terjadi.
2. Digunakan sebagai kalimat pengandaian / conditional sentence type 3
3. Digunakan sebagai indirect speech / kalimat tidak langsung

Meski terdengar sama, namun ada perbedaan yang sedikit mencolok dari kedua tenses itu. Past perfect continuous menekankan pada durasi atau lamanya waktu dari suatu kejadian itu. Jadi pada umumnya past perfect continuous (pada bagian main clause) memiliki time signal / time reference tertentu.

Rumus Past Perfect Continuous

Kalimat affirmative : S + had been + Ving

Kalimat negative = S + had not been + Ving

Kalimat interrogative = Had + S + been + Ving

Perlu diketahui bahwa dalam percakapan sehari-hari, kalimat past perfect continuous berbentuk kalimat kompleks dimana memiliki time clause berupa simple past. 

Contoh kalimat past perfect continuous : 

• I had been making dinner for one hour when John phoned me.
• I had been enjoying the program thoroughly for seven hours.
• Bobby and Beatrice had been driving for 3 hours before they stopped at the grocery. 
• We had been shopping in that shop before we came home.
• We had been watching a movie in this Cineplex for three hours.
• We had been watering the flowers for six hours before you came home.
• Lisa had been singing different kinds of songs for an hour.
• Tony had been listening to rock n roll songs for a half and hour.
• Bryan and his wife had been traveling around the world since the month of March.
• We had been shopping with my mom in the fair since 4 hours ago.
• Lisa had been waiting for me since 4 when Tom called her.
• They had been playing football on that field for almost one hour.
• My English teacher had been writing romantic poems since morning.
• I had been writing articles on various topics for three hours.
• He had been reading different kinds of books since morning.
• They had been playing football in that field before it started to rain.
• Jack had been gossiping in the canteen by all of his friends for six hours.
• My uncle had been studying in the her room before he came to the class.
• The writer had been writing sad story since the beginning of her career.
• Had you not been enjoying the concert for two hours?
• I had not been watching the basketball match on television for three hours.
• Brandon had been practicing to fix the code since morning.
• I had been helping her to do the quiz before I started the program.