scold
verb (used with object)
had been scolding
-
past perfect progressiveof scold.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
For years U.S. advisers had been scolding the Turkish government for trying to expand too far too fast and warning the Turks that they were scaring investors away.
From Time Magazine Archive
All morning my mother had been scolding me, telling me to keep still, warning me that I must make no noise.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Anne declared that Bella had been scolding him in the upper hall, but I doubted it.
From When a Man Marries by Mary Roberts Rinehart
She had been scolding to Betty about people having no thought or care as to how they put back the work with their late breakfast.
From A Little Girl in Old Boston by Amanda Minnie Douglas
Permit me to be your cicerone over Le Bocage, instead of Miss Edna here, who looks as if she had been scolding you.
From St. Elmo by Augusta J. (Augusta Jane) Evans
