Tenses bentuk ini digunakan untuk menyatakan suatu perbuatan yang telah dimulai dan masih berlangsung pada waktu lampau.
a. Pola Baku
I/You/We/They + Had + Been + Present Participle
He/She/It + Had + Been + Present Participle
1.Positive Sentence atau Kalimat Positif
S + Had + Been + V-ing + O/Adv
Contohnya :
* I had been playing tennis.
* Bagas had been watching television.
* She had been listening the music.
2. Negative Sentence atau Kalimat Negatif
S + Had + Not + Been + V-ing + O/Adv
Contohnya :
* I had not been playing tennis.
* Bagas had not (hadn’t) been watching television.
* She had not been listening the music.
3. Interrogative Sentence atau Kalimat Pertanyaan
Had + S + Been + V-ing + O/Adv?
Had + Not + S + Been + V-ing + O/Adv?
Contohnya :
* Had you been playing tennis?
* Had not (hadn’t) Bagas been watching television?
* Had she been listening the music?
b. Penggunaan
1. Untuk menyatakan peristiwa yang sedang berlangsung selama periode waktu tertentu di waktu lampau sebelum terjadi peristiwa lain.
Contohnya :
* Dika had been smoking for 3 years when he finally stopped.
* Reyhan had been waiting for the plane for 40 minutes when I saw him.
2. Untuk menyatakan suatu peristiwa yang terjadi pada waktu lampau dan peristiwa itu masih berlangsung ketika peristiwa lain terjadi.
Contohnya :
* Rizal had been playing badminton since 3 o’clock when his father arrived from office last night.
* When Putri arrived, I had been waiting for her for an hour.
c. Ciri-ciri Khusus
1. Predikat kalimat yang sering dipergunakan dalam bentuk tenses ini berpola Had + Been + Present Participle
Contohnya :
* They had been learning English.
* I had been sleeping, when my father went to office.
2. Keterangan waktu yang kerap digunakan dalam bentuk tenses ini antara lain :
when : ketika
since : sejak
after : sesudah
before : sebelum
for : selama