TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Michael had been wondering...

Activity Type Introduction

Grammar and Reading Here is an engaging worksheet to help students learn and practice
Exercises: gap-fill, the past perfect continuous tense.
error correction, writing
sentences from prompts, Procedure
reading comprehension
questions Give each student a copy of the two-page worksheet.

Read through the grammar introduction with the class.

Focus
Students then do a gap-fill exercise where they complete past
Past perfect continuous
perfect continuous sentences using verbs in brackets.

Exercise A - Answer key

Aim
To learn and practice the 1. had been playing 6. had been helping
past perfect continuous 2. had been exercising 7. had been wilting
tense. 3. had been waiting 8. had been working
4. had been concentrating 9. had been decorating
5. had been studying 10. hadn't been feeling
Preparation
Next, students correct mistakes in a set of past perfect continuous
Make one copy of the
sentences.
two-page worksheet for
each student.
Exercise B - Answer key

Level 1. had been travelling 5. had been living

2. had been searching 6. had been talking
Intermediate (B1) 3. had he been waiting 7. hadn't been standing
4. hadn't been sitting 8. Had she been cooking

Time Students then fill in gaps in a story using verbs from a box in the
past perfect continuous tense.
30 minutes
Exercise C - Answer key

1. had been sitting 5. had been minding

2. had been working 6. had been wondering
3. had been chewing 7. had been disappearing
4. had been dreaming 8. had been stealing

(continued on the next page)

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 TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Michael had been wondering...

Activity Type Procedure continued

Grammar and Reading Students then move on to answer comprehension questions about
Exercises: gap-fill, the story using full past perfect continuous sentences.
error correction, writing
sentences from prompts, Exercise D - Answer key
reading comprehension
questions 1. Michael had been sitting in the garden for a few hours.
2. M
 ichael was exhausted because he had been working long
days at the office.
Focus 3. M
 ichael hadn't noticed that Rufus had been chewing on a
Past perfect continuous slipper.
4. T
 he story says that Rufus had been minding his own
business.
Aim 5. M
 ichael didn't notice the commotion because he had been
sleeping.
To learn and practice the 6. F
 or the last few weeks, Michael had been wondering why the
past perfect continuous dog biscuits had been disappearing.
tense. 7. T
 he dog biscuits had been disappearing because the cat had
been stealing them.
Preparation As an extension, write up the following phrases on the board:
Make one copy of the
two-page worksheet for had been gardening
each student. had been wagging his tail
had been acting unusually
had been itching
Level had been sneezing
had not been eating
Intermediate (B1) had been purring

Then, ask the students to write a short story about Michael, Rufus
Time and the cat using the past perfect continuous forms in any order,
30 minutes using other narrative tenses where appropriate.

When the students have finished, ask them to read their stories
to the class and check that the students have produced accurate
past perfect continuous sentences.

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 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Michael had been wondering...

The past perfect continuous (progressive) tense is used to show that an action began
in the past and continued up to another point in the past.

The past perfect continuous structure: had (not) + been + verb-ing

Example: He had been waiting for the train for 30 minutes by the time it arrived.

To form a question in the past perfect continuous, invert the subject and auxiliary verb.

Example: Had he been waiting for the train for 30 minutes by the time it arrived?

A. Complete the past perfect continuous sentences using the verbs in brackets.

1. Sarah .............................. (play) the guitar for 3 years before she first performed on stage.

2. They .............................. (exercise) outside when there was a sudden storm which made
them run for cover.

3. We .............................. (wait) 45 minutes for the bus before it finally arrived.

4. I was exhausted because I .............................. (concentrate) since 7 a.m.

5. As he .............................. (study) hard for the whole term, Zach was sure to pass the exam.

6. W
 e both got in trouble because I .............................. (help) her with her homework the
whole time.

7. Because of the recent heat wave, the plants .............................. (wilt).

8. I .............................. (work) for 5 months when my boss promoted me to supervisor.

9. They .............................. (decorate) the new house for hours and it was time to have a break.

10. I .............................. (not feel) worried about the presentation until I saw the audience.

B. Each past perfect continuous sentence below contains an error. Correct the mistakes.

1. We has been travelling around Europe for 4 weeks and had already visited 5 countries.

2. The authorities had been searched for him for 3 years before they finally caught him.

3. How long had he be waiting for her before she showed up?

4. I had been not sitting down for very long before I was called into the office.

5. My family and I had living in England for 15 years before we moved to the United States.

6. The man left the room after he had was talking on the phone for over an hour.

7. I hope they had not being standing out on the street for long.

8. Had she been cooked in the kitchen all afternoon or had she taken a break?

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 PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Michael had been wondering...

C. Fill in the gaps in the short story with the verbs in the box in the past perfect
continuous tense.

disappear sit work chew dream mind wonder steal

The sun was shining and the smell of freshly cut grass lingered in the air.
Michael (1) .............................. in the garden for a few hours, dozing
in his chair. He was exhausted because he (2) ..............................
long days at the office. His dog, Rufus, was laying in the shade of an old
tree. He (3) .............................. on a slipper for a while, but Michael hadn't noticed. Michael
(4) .............................. about going on holiday to a tropical island. Suddenly, a dark shadow
dashed over the fence and through the open kitchen door. Rufus (5) .............................. his
own business with the slipper, but the furry shadow caught his attention. Barking, he bolted
after the creature. He leaped over Michael's legs and began a ferocious pursuit. Michael awoke
to the sound of the commotion and saw his dog chasing a rather fat cat away from his food
bowl. For the last few weeks, Michael (6) .............................. why Rufus's new dog biscuits
(7) .............................. faster than he could refill them. The cat (8) ..............................
his food!

D. Answer the questions about the story using full sentences in the past perfect
continuous.

1. How long had Michael been sitting in the garden?

..................................................................................................................................
2. Why was Michael exhausted?

..................................................................................................................................
3. What had Rufus been doing that Michael hadn't noticed?

..................................................................................................................................
4. How do you know that Rufus wasn't disturbing anyone before the cat arrived?

..................................................................................................................................
5. Why didn't Michael notice the commotion until he heard it?

..................................................................................................................................
6. What had Michael been wondering for the last few weeks?

..................................................................................................................................
7. Why had the dog biscuits been disappearing?

..................................................................................................................................

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