Joey had been winding up to pitch when Gramps called for a time out.

Which tense is the underlined verb phrase?

A.

past perfect progressive

B.

simple past

C.

present perfect

D.

future progressive

The verb phrase in this sentence is "had been winding up". This verb phrase's tense is past perfect progressive. The answer is option A. Past perfect progressive defines an action that began in the past and is still ongoing in the present when a second action began.