the other take place. e.g. when i reached home, he had already gone. 3. past continuous tense shows an action which was going on at a certain time in the past. e.g i was reading a book when he came. 4. past perfect continuous tense states that an action had been going on at, or before, some point in the time past. e.g. he had been breaking some stones before he was killed by a falling stone. 