Need help with Past Perfect Continuous
Please, which one of these sentences are correct if I want to emphasize the continuation? 1) I had been writing an essay before I went to sleep. 2) I was writing an essay before I went to sleep. 3) I wrote an essay before I went to sleep. Thanks. Look forward to your answers.Please, one more thing, would it be OK to say 'I had been writing an essay for 30 minutes before I went to sleep.' I mean, before sounds natural here or not? Thanks in advance.
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Answers · 6
3
"Had been" implies that you have not finished the essay, but that you stopped.
"Was" is past tense for "is." You probably finished, although it's unclear.
"Wrote" definitely indicated you completed the essay.
I hope this helps somewhat.
2
In this situation, past continuous sounds most natural and common.
Past perfect continuous would be OK too (and would sound more formal); but it would not be necessary because the sequence in time - first writing, then sleep - is obvious. The preposition "before" makes this clear, and so the sentence sounds more like a narrative.
In the following example, it is necessary to use past perfect continuous:
"I had been writing my essay for 30 minutes when the phone rang."
The timing of the two events (writing and ringing) is very precisely defined by reference to two past actions and so it is necessary to use the past perfect for the earlier one.
0
Thanks a lot for your answers. It helped. Cheers.
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