Past Perfect Progressive

Let’s examine the following sentence: “By 2016, I had been working for this company for 3 years”. The speaker provides background information and relates to what progressive activity preceded 2016. This could be a way of saying that he was experienced by that year or had relevant experience that helped him with a certain event at work that took place in 2016. We connected two points in time in the past together - 2016 and what came before it in the context of this person’s job.

An extended process\activity that had just stopped which had a result in a certain point in the past. (American and British English)
Ongoing processes\ actions that effected a point of time in the past. (American and British English)
How long an activity has been going on from the past until the present.(American and British English)
Guessing a recent activity that’s been going on or has just stopped from what we can see, hear, smell etc. (American and British English)

I’d been walking on the Blvd. all morning, I was exhausted, I didn’t have the energy to go and play basketball with my friends when they called and asked me to come. (extended activity that just stopped)	She had been working in the garden since 14:00, her back hurt, that’s why she couldn’t help you move apartments last Sunday when you called. (extended activity that just stopped)
I remember that time, it was just after Passover, He had been working hard on the website and it started to look great. (ongoing recent process with effect)	It was towards the end of the year, she had a dancing audition coming up and She’d been exercising a lot, she was in great shape. (ongoing recent process with effect)
I had been working for Bright English for 3 years. Before taking a job as a high school teacher (activity – how long)	He had been speaking to Jack for half an hour before he finally gave up and stopped trying to convince him to join us. (activity – how long)
He smelled of alcohol and was walking funny; I thought he had been drinking. (guessing activity)	It smelled of food and there were pots on the stove, somebody had been cooking. (guessing activity)

Past Perfect Progressive Structure:

I had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	I hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had I been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
Yoni and I (we) had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	We hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had we been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
You had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	You hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had you been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
The men (they) had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	They hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had they been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
Ben (he) had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	He hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had he been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
Maya (she) had been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	She hadn’t been studying at Bright English for 3 months.	Had she been studying at Bright English for 3 months?
The computer (it) had been studying for 3 months.	It hadn’t been studying for 3 months.	Had it been studying for 3 months?

Subject + had + been + verb.ing

We use had + been + verb.ing to make the Past Perfect Progressive. (I had been talking)
We use -had- to build questions in the Past Perfect Progressive (see table above).
We use -hadn’t- to build negatives (see table above).
We do not use the Past Perfect Progressive with verbs such as understand, own, dis(like), belong, know which describe unchanging states. (I had been liking pizza since I was a kid × incorrect)
We use the Past Perfect Progressive to emphasize that an activity is ongoing and repeated, while in the Past Perfect Simple the activity happened only once, or on a specified number of occasions.

by 2008, 2009, by the end of___. etc, before + ביטוי זמן, never, ever, for, since, already, yet, just