had been trotting

• past perfect progressive

  past perfect progressive

  Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.

  of trot.
  trot

  verb (used without object)

  (of a horse) to go at a gait between a walk and a run, in which the legs move in diagonal pairs, but not quite simultaneously, so that when the movement is slow one foot at least is always on the ground, and when fast all four feet are momentarily off the ground at once.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

had been trotting

Churchill was apparently fond of the line, as he had been trotting out versions of it since the 1930s.

From Slate ● Nov. 26, 2019

Like a good boy, Tommy had been trotting ten miles daily on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk.

From Time Magazine Archive

Tree-ear had been trotting along the road on his early- morning perusal of the village rubbish heaps.

From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park

The little bandy-legged dogs that kept the spits turning before the fires had been trotting steadily for many an hour, until their tongues hung out for want of breath.

From Short Stories for English Courses by Rosa Mary Redding Mikels

Dingo had been trotting up and down the deck.

From Dick Sands, the Boy Captain by Ellen E. Frewer

Related Words

• amble
• hurry
• jog
• lope
• scamper