Concerning an exercise where one has to choose between Past Perfect Simple and Past Perfect Continuous, which of these tenses would you choose for these 2 sentences:
1 - They .......... (talk) for hours before they realised what time it was.
2 - At the time of the accident he ......... (drive) for less than 3 months.
Thanks in advance!
In my opinion, we have two choices for each sentence.
In sentence 1a, the Past Perfect can be used to show that one thing (�talk�) happened at a specific time in the past before a second thing (�time�).
1a - �They had talked for hours before they realised what time it was� = Past Perfect.
In sentence 1b, the Past Perfect Continuous can be used to show that one thing (�talk�) happened for a period of time in the past before a second thing (�time�).
1b - �They had been talking for hours before they realised what time it was� = Past Perfect Continuous.
The talking did not take place at a specific time. It took place over a period of time, (�for hours�), therefore, in my opinion, the appropriate tense is the Past Perfect Continuous.
In sentence 2a, the Past Perfect can be used to show that one thing (�drive�) happened at a specific time in the past before a second thing (�accident�).
2a - At the time of the accident he had driven for less than 3 months = Past Perfect.
In sentence 2b, the Past Perfect Continuous can be used to show that one thing (�drive�) happened for a period of time in the past before a second thing (�accident�).
2a - At the time of the accident he had been driving for less than 3 months = Past Perfect Continuous.
The driving did not take place at a specific time. It took place over a period of time, (�for less than 3 months�), therefore, in my opinion, the appropriate tense is the Past Perfect Continuous.
Les
