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Wisdom27 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

was or had been

Dear all,
I am always confused with past perfect continuous tense.
I was working in Kuwait for a long time.
I had been working in Kuwait for a long time.
Which tense is correct here?
Thank you.
  

Top answer

The past perfect tense goes further back in time, relative to something else that is itself in the past. The "something else" must be supplied by the context. For example: I had been working in Kuwait for a long time, when suddenly and unexpectedly I lost my job.

— GPY

  • The past perfect tense goes further back in time, relative to something else that is itself in the past.
  • The "something else" must be supplied by the context.
  • For example: I had been working in Kuwait for a long time, when suddenly and unexpectedly I lost my job.
  • "working in Kuwait" happened before "lost my job".
  • If there is no such context, and you are talking about a past spell of work, then just say "I worked / was working in Kuwait for a long time".
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2 Answers
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The past perfect tense goes further back in time, relative to something else that is itself in the past. The "something else" must be supplied by the context. For example:

I had been working in Kuwait for a long time, when suddenly and unexpectedly I lost my job.

"working in Kuwait" happened before "lost my job".

If there is no such context, and you are talking ab
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wisdom27Which tense is correct here?
I would just say I worked in Kuwait for a long time. That means you worked in Kuwait during some period of time that came to an end some time ago.
If, however, you are still working in Kuwait at the time you say this, say I have been working in Kuwait for a long time.

I don't see any justificatio
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