was having vs had been having

Koronas said:

The subtle meanings are somewhat dependent on where, when and to whom they were spoken.

Note that we would normally say "dinner" not "a dinner", except in special circumstances.

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ostap77 said:

I was asking about "was having" and "had been having" used in the above given sentences.

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Koronas said:

That's what I was referring to. It depends.....

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ostap77 said:

"had been havig" means a longer period of time or it drastically changes the meaning?

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ostap77 said:

"had been havig" means a longer period of time or it drastically changes the meaning?

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riquecohen said:

Take a look at the thread called Tense, started by Rita_B. The last comment was posted today by Raymott at about 10:50 a.m. I think that this may help clarify this issue for you.

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ostap77 said:

"He said that he was having a dinner when we gave him a call."

OR

"He said that he had been having a dinner when we gave him a call."

Would there be any difference for you as a speaker? If the second one is grammatically correct, doesn't Past Perfect suggest a longer duration?

"The meeting is over."

OR

"The meeting has already come to an end."

Would there be a noticeable difference, If some used both in conversation?

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TheParser said:

NOT A TEACHER

(1) IF I understand the matter correctly, there is a difference

between the past progressive and past perfect progressive.

(a) "He was having dinner when we called."

=
We called at 7 o'clock; he was still eating dinner (he had started to

eat at 6:55).

(b) "He had been eating dinner when we called."




=

(a) he was still eating dinner.

or

(b) he had just finished.

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