Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous

Question

Hi,

Just like to bring up something discussion. When do we use the past perfect and past perfect continuos. I looked up a grammar text in the local library and they have the smae explanation for both, that is:

- used when something happened in the past and still having an effect now

So in effect, I could use past perfect to make this statement:

He has lived in this this house since 1968.

or past perfect continuous to have the same effect as the above:

He has been living in this house since 1968.

So which one should we use ?

nocilis · Answer

I am no expert, but I will try ..

 Past Perfect Simple:  
- uses had + verb (v3, the Past Participle)

The action was finished before another action started at that point

We  had hoped  to visit Las vegas before we left America

 Past Perfect Progressive (or continous) 
- uses had + been + participle

To tell how long something continued before another action took place in the past
He  had been running  for five miles before he took a break.

Both sentences are right. The usage depends on what you want to say. If action was continuing, at the time the next action happened, use the Past Perfect Progressive.

The rule that I know about the use of Past Perfect tense (both simple and progressive) is:
When the main verb is in the Past Perfect tense, the verb in the dependent clause is usually in the past tense.
eg, The game  had been  won by the time I  arrived  at the stadium


The example you gave:
1) He  has lived  in this this house since 1968. 
is actually  Present Perfect Simple  , (although it does sound like past because of the use of 'lived', but it is not)

-uses has/have + verb (v3)

Here the action was completed in the past, but is still relevant

2) He  has been living  in this house since 1968
is actually  Present Perfect Progressive (or continous) 

- uses have/has + been + participle

The action started in the past, continued over a span of time and is still going on.

Both sentences are correct. The usage depends on what you want to say. If action is continuing, and its continousness is relevant, use progressive.

As I said, I am no expert. Check out some Grammar Internet sites, you should be able to get some more details.

pulkitaggi · Answer

Need help in understanding one more point- 
If the dependent clause or any other clause has Present perfect form of the verb- ( Have Verb+ed), will the main clause have the past perfect form??

Reason for asking is that the present perfect presents a time frame in which something happened in past and is still continuing. Ans some action happened in more past than the above mentioned action- so shouldn't it be in past perfect?

EducationAisle · Answer

Hi  pulkitaggi , of course  present perfect + past perfect  can be used together.

pulkitaggi · Answer

Hi  EducationAisle

Why I asked this question was because I came across a Question from Veritas, in which they used past perfect and present perfect together in an option and removed the option because of the use of 2 tenses together. I removed the sentence because of some other error. Can you check? 
Question ( to avoid repeating a question- I am just copying the question stem) 
The rare bird, considered extinct for over fifty years and actually thriving in a remote part of the Andes, has made a remarkable comeback over the past decade. (  problem in option B - though I removed that option because of the  use IT - but in my opinion  past perfect was used completely fine .)

Thank you in advance

EducationAisle · Answer

There are official questions in which these two tenses have been used together.

Since I am not aware of this question in entirety, am unable to comment on this; however, it's always a good idea to focus on  official  questions only, for your preparation.

PJ226 · Answer

Hi  EducationAisle  , I recently came across these two sentences (correct sentence is the 2nd one) from an Egmat webinar:

(1) Until a strict schedule was imposed, kids had been allowed to watch television for hours at a stretch.

(2) Until a strict schedule was imposed, kids were allowed to watch television for hours at a stretch.

In the first sentence, 'had been' indicates that the action 'kids had been allowed to watch television' was completed by a specific time in the past (it was completed before the strict schedule was imposed.

Since there are two events, and the event of imposing a strict schedule is the later event, I am not sure why 'had been' is incorrect here.

Can you please help

Posted from my mobile device

EducationAisle · Answer

Actually I would be curious to know as well. What explanation does eGMAT provide, on this?

PJ226 · Answer

The instructor said that it's not correct to use 'had been' in this sentence because it indicates that the kids were already not allowed to watch television for long hours when the strict schedule was imposed. So it is not logical to say that the authorities imposed a strict schedule if the kids are already not allowed to watch television for long hours.

Another example with the same analogy was provided in the webinar:

(1) Joe asked for a slice from the pizza that Amy had eaten (incorrect)

(2) Joe asked for a slice from the pizza that Amy was eating (correct)

In the example, the usage of 'had been' is clearly incorrect since it indicates that Joe asked for a slice from the pizza that had ALREADY been eaten by Amy.

However, the explanation of why 'had been' is incorrect in the first example is still not clear to me.

EducationAisle · Answer

It's not clear to me as well. Generally I would expect instructors to provide  official examples , to support their point.

Perhaps other experts can contribute.

Past Perfect vs Past Perfect Continuous

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