Virtuous English Academy
Advanced Past Tenses and Past Habits (B2)
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- #Grammar
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This lesson develops your command of the past, including the past perfect, past perfect continuous and structures like would and used to for habits. It helps you tell complex, layered stories.
B2 completes the past tense system by adding the past perfect continuous and by demanding precise control over the ways English describes past habits. Used to, would, the past simple and the past continuous all overlap, and choosing well is what makes narrative writing convincing.
The past perfect continuous — had been plus -ing — describes an activity that was ongoing before another past moment, usually with visible consequences. She had been running, which was why she was out of breath. It stands to the past perfect exactly as the present perfect continuous stands to the present perfect.
The other B2 refinement is knowing when the past perfect is genuinely needed. Learners often overuse it, applying it to every earlier event. In fact, when the sequence is already clear from conjunctions like after, before or then, the past simple is preferred, and a chain of past perfects makes prose heavy and unnatural.
How to form Advanced Past Tenses
| Form | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Past simple | completed event at a stated time | She resigned in April. |
| Past continuous | action in progress around a past point | She was working there at the time. |
| Past perfect | completed before another past event | She had resigned before the merger. |
| Past perfect continuous | ongoing before another past event | She had been working there for years. |
| used to | past habit or state, now finished | She used to work nights. |
| would | repeated past action only | She would arrive before everyone else. |
| was going to | past intention not carried out | She was going to resign, but she stayed. |
| was about to | on the point of, interrupted | She was about to leave when the call came. |
Advanced Past Tenses: the key rules
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The past perfect continuous supplies duration before a past moment.
She'd been driving for ten hours when the storm hit.
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Would + verb narrates past habits with a nostalgic colour; used to covers habits and states.
Every Friday my grandfather would buy the paper and read it cover to cover.
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Be used to / get used to + -ing mean familiarity, not past habit — a completely different structure.
I'm used to getting up early now, but it took months to get used to it.
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The past perfect sequences events after 'when', 'because', 'by the time'.
By the time the police arrived, the crowd had dispersed.
When to use Advanced Past Tenses
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Structuring a narrative
The past perfect signals which of two past events came first, without needing a date.
By the time the police arrived, the crowd had dispersed.
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Explaining a past situation
The past perfect continuous supplies the cause of a past state.
His eyes were red — he had been staring at a screen for nine hours.
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Describing habits with nuance
Used to for states and actions; would for repeated actions with a reminiscing tone.
We used to live by the coast. Every evening we would walk along the shore.
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Reporting unrealised intentions
Was going to and was about to describe plans overtaken by events.
I was going to call, but I heard you were away.
Past perfect simple vs. continuous
The same relationship as in the present perfect pair, transposed one step further back.
Past perfect simple — completed
The earlier action finished. Emphasis on the result or the number.
She had written three drafts before the deadline.
Past perfect continuous — ongoing
The earlier activity was still running, or its effects were visible at the later point.
She had been writing all night, and it showed.
Advanced Past Tenses in example sentences
- The train had already left when we reached the platform.Past perfect for the earlier of two events.
- They had been arguing for an hour before anyone intervened.Past perfect continuous — duration before a past point.
- He used to be far more patient.used to with a state; would is impossible here.
- Every summer we would drive down to the coast.would for a repeated past action.
- I was about to leave when she called.An action interrupted at the point of happening.
- We were going to move, but the sale fell through.An intention that was not realised.
- She was living in Berlin when the wall came down.Past continuous for a temporary past situation.
- After he finished, he went home.After makes the order clear, so the past simple suffices.
Advanced Past Tenses in a real conversation
Note where the past perfect is genuinely needed and where the past simple would do.
Journalist:What was the atmosphere like when you arrived?
Witness:Tense. The negotiations had already collapsed.
Journalist:Had anyone warned you?
Witness:We'd been hearing rumours for weeks, but nothing official.
Journalist:And afterwards?
Witness:I was going to publish immediately, but the editor wanted verification first.
Common mistakes (and how to fix them)
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I am used to get up at six.
I am used to getting up at six.
In be used to, the 'to' is a preposition — it demands the gerund, not the infinitive.
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He would own a motorbike in his twenties.
He used to own a motorbike in his twenties.
Would narrates repeated actions only; states like own, live, believe need used to.
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When we arrived, they had been leaving.
When we arrived, they had (already) left.
A completed earlier event takes the past perfect simple; the continuous would mean an odd unfinished leaving-in-progress.
Practise Advanced Past Tenses today
Narrative writing is the natural test — sequence is what these tenses exist for.
- Write a six-sentence narrative using the past perfect at least twice and justifying each use.
- Write four pairs contrasting past perfect simple and continuous.
- Write four sentences with used to and four with would, marking which would not swap.
- Write three sentences with was going to and three with was about to.
Advanced Past Tenses: frequently asked questions
Am I overusing the past perfect?
Possibly. It is needed only when the order of events would otherwise be unclear or when you want to stress that one preceded another. If the sequence is already signalled by after, before, then, first or a date, the past simple is preferred. A useful check: read the passage aloud and see whether removing a past perfect creates any confusion. If it does not, remove it.
When exactly does would not work for past habits?
With states. Would describes repeated actions only, so We would go swimming is fine but We would have a dog is wrong — you need used to or the past simple. States include be, have, know, live, like and own. Would also usually needs a past time frame already established, which is why narratives introduce the period with used to and then continue with would.
What is the difference between was going to and would have?
Was going to reports a past intention that was not carried out, with no conditional element: I was going to call you. Would have belongs to a conditional structure and needs an implied or stated condition: I would have called you if I'd had your number. The first states a plan; the second states a hypothetical outcome.
Can the past perfect continuous be used with state verbs?
No, for the same reason as every other continuous form. Had been knowing and had been owning are both wrong; use the past perfect simple instead — had known, had owned. This restriction catches learners out most often with know and live: I had been knowing him for years should be I had known him for years.