Example Sentences

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, but I wasn’t as clued into photography yet.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2024

So he had been painting various aspects of race relations for several decades.

From Washington Post • Apr. 11, 2022

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

I had been painting, I said, since early childhood, but that, following the advice of Pablo Picasso, who was one of the oldest and dearest friends of my parents, I had never exhibited.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger