Grade 10 Grammar Lesson 9 Past perfect continuous and past perfect

What is the difference in use of the past perfect continuous tense and the past perfect tense?
Which tense do we use to talk about the completion of an activity?

• We use the past perfect continuous (had been doing) to talk about a situation or activity that was going on up to a particular time in the past.
•  This means they started renovating the museum at some past time and it was continuing up to a particular time (when we visited).
•  We use the past perfect to talk about the completion of an activity or its effects at a past time.
•  If we emphasise on how long something went on up to a particular time in the past, we use past perfect continuous, but if the emphasis is on how many (times), we use past perfect.
•  We also use the past perfect continuous for an activity or situation that happened shortly before a particular time in the past.
  

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