Past Perfect Continuous: Duration up to a Past Moment (C1)

By the time she retired, she for the company for over 30 years. (work)

When the police arrived, the protesters peacefully outside the embassy for several hours. (chant)

By 2020, the team on the new vaccine since 2015. (research)

He was finally promoted in March, but he in the same role for eight years. (work)

When I first met them at the wedding, the couple together for nearly a decade. (live)

By the time the alarm finally went off, the fire in the basement for hours. (smoulder)

By the time the film won the award, the director on it since 2009. (work)

When the surgery finally ended, the team for over twelve hours straight. (operate)

By her thirtieth birthday, Sara ballet seriously for more than twenty years. (study)

The river had risen dramatically by Friday — it heavily since the previous Tuesday. (rain)

By the time the negotiators reached an agreement, they for nearly forty hours without a break. (argue)

When the strike was finally called off, the workers outside the factory gates for six weeks. (picket)

By the time of the audit, the firm the fraudulent losses as goodwill for three consecutive quarters. (report)

When the plane finally took off, passengers on the tarmac for over five hours. (wait)

By her ninetieth birthday, my grandmother in the same flat since 1953. (live)