Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I had been painting before the accident, but not at the magnitude that I am now.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2025
In the early 1980s, Evans, who had been painting for nearly two decades by then, began coming to D.C. each week with her husband, former congressman Tom Evans.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 24, 2021
It turned out that Mr. Gunderman had been painting fairly consistently, and discreetly, all along.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2020
For a decade the artist had been painting fruit and landscapes of similar heft.
From Economist ● Nov. 9, 2017
Downstairs the front doors slammed, and my older brother, Tidings, who had been painting the fence by the front parking lot, yelled, “Attention, all personnel! Where are the big umbrellas! I need rain cover!”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
