Which of the following sentences correctly uses the past perfect continuous tense?

By the time I arrived, they had been studying for three hours.

By the time I arrived, they have studied for three hours.

By the time I arrived, they studied for three hours.

By the time I arrived, they had been studying for three hours.

By the time I arrived, they were studying for three hours.

Past Perfect Continuous - English Grammar Rules & Examples

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Past Perfect Continuous - English Grammar Rules & Examples - Practet

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The Past Perfect Continuous is a verb tense that shows an action started before another action in the past and continued up to that point.

had + been + -ing form (e.g., had been eating). This is the pattern to form the Past Perfect Continuous.

To show an action started before another action in the past and continued up to that point, e.g., 'I had been studying English for three years before I moved to the US.'.
To give background information about a past action, e.g., 'They had been traveling around Europe for months before they settled in Paris.'.