So, May,
did you pick up your car last night? >> [SOUND] The repair shop was
already closed when I got there. I have to go back tonight. Judy, I am so frustrated with Brendon. He was supposed to pick me up yesterday at
6 o'clock and drive me to the shop, but he totally forgot. By the time I called him,
I had been waiting for over an hour. >> Lyn tells me that she had
been waiting for an hour. This verb phrase is in the past perfect
progressive, which has three main parts. Had, the optional not, been and then the I-N-G form of the main verb,
also called the present participle. Notice the had can be contracted,
shortened. She'd been waiting for an hour. The past perfect progressive is not
frequently used, but when we do use it, what does it mean? To understand, let's revisit
the present perfect progressive. Here's what happened last night. >> Where are you? The repair shop's closed now. You were supposed to be here at 6,
and now it's 7. I've been waiting here for an hour. >> Meg tells her boyfriend Brendon,
that she has been waiting for an hour. This is the present
perfect progressive tense. You may remember that this verb
tense also has three main parts. The helping verbs has or
have, plus been, and then the present participle
of the main verb. It can have two meanings. When the time is specified or
implied using expressions such as for, since, or all day,
it is an unfinished action right now. Without expressions, such as for or since, sometimes called unspecified time,
this verb tends might suggest that an action was very
recently finished just before now. In our example Meg started waiting at 6. It is past 7 now. She has been waiting for an hour. Brendon has not arrived, so
Meg must continue to wait. Here, waiting is an unfinished
action right now. She has been waiting since 6 o'clock,
and she is still waiting. Now let's go back to our original example. The past perfect progressive looks the
same, except that has or have becomes had. It also has the same two meanings but instead of referring to now, it's
referring to another time in the past. This morning,
when chatting with me in the office, Meg says that she started
waiting at 6 o'clock yesterday. By 7:00 PM, she had been waiting for
an hour, and was still waiting. Here, waiting is an unfinished
time in the past. Brendon realized his mistake
at 7:00 PM last night, but by then, Meg had already been
waiting since 6 o'clock. >> I'm so sorry I'm late. I know the repair shop is closed now. I promise, we'll get your car tomorrow. >> [SOUND]
>> Meg is clearly angry. She has been feeling
angry since last night. This sentence is in the present
perfect progressive. How can we make the sentence in
the past perfect progressive? That's right, she had been feeling angry. What might this mean? Was it unfinished time still happening, or
recently finished, no longer happening? Well, there's no time expression
such as for or since, so perhaps this feeling ended very recently. Very recently can be a minute or
even a short second ago. Take for example,
the conclusion of this story. >> I've been feeling so angry. He's the worst. [NOISE]
>> Flower delivery for Meg? >> For me? Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> They're so pretty. >> Where are they from? >> Sorry about last night, babe. I'll pick you up tonight
at 6 o'clock sharp. Love, Brendon. >> Aw, I know that you had
been feeling angry lately. Not anymore, I guess? >> No, I'm not angry at all.
