1️⃣Question 1
By the time my boss arrived, I __________ for two hours.
✅Correct Answer: had been working
💭Use Past Perfect Continuous to show the duration of an action up to a specific point in the past ("by the time my boss arrived").
2️⃣Question 2
She was tired because she __________ all day.
✅Correct Answer: had been working
💭Past Perfect Continuous explains the cause of a past situation (tiredness) by showing the continuous action that happened before.
3️⃣Question 3
They __________ in Rio for five years before they moved to São Paulo.
✅Correct Answer: had been living
💭Use Past Perfect Continuous with "for" to show duration of an action before another past action (moving to São Paulo).
4️⃣Question 4
When the train finally came, we __________ for over an hour.
✅Correct Answer: had been waiting
💭Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration of waiting before the train arrived.
5️⃣Question 5
His hands were dirty because he __________ the car.
✅Correct Answer: had been fixing
💭Past Perfect Continuous explains the visible result (dirty hands) by showing the continuous action that happened before.
6️⃣Question 6
She failed the exam because she __________ enough.
✅Correct Answer: hadn't been studying
💭The negative form of Past Perfect Continuous (hadn't been studying) explains why she failed - the lack of continuous studying before the exam.
7️⃣Question 7
__________ you __________ long before the bus arrived?
✅Correct Answer: Had / been waiting
💭Question form of Past Perfect Continuous: Had + subject + been + verb-ing. This asks about duration before another past action.
8️⃣Question 8
He was nervous because he __________ in front of an audience before.
✅Correct Answer: hadn't been speaking
💭The negative Past Perfect Continuous explains his nervousness - he lacked experience (hadn't been speaking) before that moment.
9️⃣Question 9
They were exhausted because they __________ football all afternoon.
✅Correct Answer: had been playing
💭Past Perfect Continuous explains the cause of exhaustion by showing the continuous action that happened before.
🔟Question 10
We __________ each other for years before we became friends.
✅Correct Answer: had known each other
💭IMPORTANT: "Know" is a stative verb and is NOT used in continuous tenses. Use Past Perfect Simple (had known) instead of Past Perfect Continuous.