True or False Quiz

Past Perfect Continuous vs Present Perfect Continuous

⚠️Common Brazilian Error Alert!

This quiz helps you avoid a very common mistake:

Past Perfect Continuous (had been + -ing) = Use when referring to an action before another past action
Present Perfect Continuous (have/has been + -ing) = Use when connecting past to present, NOT for past-before-past

🎯Decide if each sentence is grammatically correct (True) or incorrect (False)!

Statement

I had been studying when you called me yesterday.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! Use Past Perfect Continuous (had been studying) for an action that was ongoing before another past action (you called).

Statement

I have been studying when you called me yesterday.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! Cannot use Present Perfect Continuous with "yesterday" or for actions before another past action. Use "had been studying" instead.

Statement

She was tired because she had been working all day before the meeting.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! Past Perfect Continuous explains a past result (tiredness) by showing the continuous action before the meeting.

Statement

She has been working all day before the meeting yesterday.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! Cannot use Present Perfect Continuous with "yesterday". Use "had been working" for past-before-past.

Statement

They had been waiting for two hours before the bus finally arrived.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! Past Perfect Continuous shows the duration of waiting before the bus arrived.

Statement

They have been waiting for two hours before the bus arrived yesterday.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! Present Perfect Continuous cannot be used with "yesterday" or before another completed past action.

Statement

By the time the teacher came, the students had been doing their homework for 20 minutes.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! "By the time" indicates a past reference point, so Past Perfect Continuous is correct.

Statement

By the time the teacher came, the students have been doing their homework for 20 minutes.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! Cannot use Present Perfect Continuous with a completed past reference point ("the teacher came").

Statement

When I arrived, Ana had been talking on the phone for half an hour.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! Past Perfect Continuous shows Ana was talking before "I arrived".

Statement

When I arrived, Ana has been talking on the phone for half an hour.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! "When I arrived" is a completed past action, so we need Past Perfect Continuous (had been talking).

Statement

He was nervous because he had been practicing his speech before the presentation.

✅Correct Answer: True

💭This is correct! Past Perfect Continuous explains his past nervousness with a continuous action before the presentation.

Statement

He was nervous because he has been practicing his speech before the presentation yesterday.

✅Correct Answer: False

💭This is INCORRECT! Cannot use Present Perfect Continuous with "yesterday" or for past-before-past situations.

Review the explanations above to master this common error!