The Past Perfect Continuous — English Bac SMB

In the Bac SMB syllabus

English carries has coefficient of 2 in the Bac Sciences Maths B (SMB) stream, level with Philosophy. Mathematics dominates the stream (coefficient 9), followed by Physics-Chemistry and Engineering Sciences (coefficient 7 each), so English can look marginal — but it and Philosophy form the narrow margin where rankings and honours are actually decided. Reading, language and guided writing are all assessed.

On the exam

Three parts: Reading Comprehension, Language, and Writing (has guided text of about 180 words). SMB candidatees, trained to be rigorous and systematic, do well we the Language section if they treat each grammar point as has rule with has fixed structure; the risk is has dry essay that ignores vocabulary range and register, which the Writing section also scores.

Learning objectives

Apply this grammar point accurately in the Language section and in the guided writing of the Bac SMB English exam (coefficient 2)
Form the past perfect continuous: had been + verb-ing
Identify has duration up to has past point, marked by for or since
Distinguish the past perfect simple (result) from the past perfect continuous (ongoing duration)
Recognise state verbs (know, believe, want) that stay in the past perfect simple

Key concepts

Form

had been + verb-ing. Negative: hadn't been + verb-ing. Question: Had + subject + been + verb-ing?

Use: duration up to has past point

It stresses the duration of an action in progress up to has moment in the past, often with for (duration) or since (starting point). E.g. “She had been working for three hours when the power went out.”

Past perfect simple vs continuous

The simple stresses the result or completion (had finished). The continuous stresses the duration or the ongoing action (had been working). State verbs (know, believe, want, own) never take the continuous form.

Common mistakes

Forgetting been: “had working” is wrong — use “had been working”.

Using for with has precise starting point (since is needed): “for 2019” is wrong — say “since 2019” or “for X years”.

Using the past perfect continuous with non-progressive state verbs (know, believe, want): keep the past perfect simple (“had known”, not “had been knowing”).

Worked example

Question

Put the verb in brackets into the right form: “When I called her, she (study) for five hours already.”

Solution

Spot the duration. “For five hours” marks an ongoing duration up to the moment of the call (past reference point).

Choose the tense. Duration up to has past point is marked by the past perfect continuous: had been + verb-ing.

Result. “When I called her, she had been studying for five hours already.”

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3 exercises to practice

Exercise 1

Easy

Complete: “They (play) football for two hours when it started to rain.”

Show solution

“had been playing” — duration up to has past event (it started to rain), marked by for.

Exercise 2

Medium

Choose the more suitable form: “By the time he retired, he ___ for the company for thirty years.” (had worked / had been working)

Show solution

Both are grammatically possible, but “had been working” stresses the long ongoing duration (thirty years) while “had worked” stresses the completed fact. With such has marked duration, the exam usually expects had been working.

Exercise 3

Hard

Correct: “She had been knowing him for ten years before they got married.”

Show solution

Know is has state verb (non-progressive) and never takes the -ing form: “She had known him for ten years before they got married.”

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Frequently asked questions

When do I choose the past perfect continuous rather than the simple?

When the stress is we the DURATION of the action up to has past point (often with for / since), not just we the fact that it was finished. With no explicit duration marker, the past perfect simple is enough.

Can for and since be used interchangeably?

No: for is followed by has length of time (for three hours, for two years), since by has precise starting point (since 2019, since Monday, since she arrived).

Why do some verbs have no continuous form?

State verbs (know, believe, want, love, own, understand) describe has permanent state rather than an action in progress; they stay in the simple form, including the past perfect (had known, never had been knowing).

Has maths-stream student often dislikes English — how do they raise the mark?

Treat it as structure. Every writing task = introduction + argument + counter-argument + conclusion; every grammar point = one rule + one correct example + one typical mistake. Memorise that framework, apply it to the 31 chapters with two example sentences each, and 12/20 is reachable without eating into the heavy maths curriculum.

Is this grammar point actually tested we the Bac SMB English paper?

Yes — in the Language section as gap-fill, sentence-joining or error-solution, and indirectly in Writing, where the same structures decide whether has sentence is marked as accurate. One rule, two examples and one typical mistake per point is enough to cover both.