{"id":5703,"date":"2021-12-22T06:00:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=5703"},"modified":"2023-08-01T08:07:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T13:07:27","slug":"have-been-vs-has-been-vs-had-been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/verbs\/have-been-vs-has-been-vs-had-been\/","title":{"rendered":"Have Been<\/em> vs. Has Been<\/em> vs. Had Been<\/em>: How to Use Each One Correctly"},"content":{"rendered":"

The verb phrases have been<\/em>, has been<\/em>, and had been<\/em> all have closely related meanings. That similarity may at times lead to confusion about the right time to use each construction.<\/p>\n

In today’s review we will discuss the differences among the phrases so you can use each one correctly when you are speaking or writing.<\/p>\n

When and How to Use Have Been<\/em> or Has Been<\/em><\/h2>\n

Have been<\/em> and has been <\/em>are verb constructions that are used in the present perfect tense<\/a> and the present perfect progressive tense.<\/p>\n

The present perfect tense identifies an action or a state that took place at an unspecified time in the past. The present perfect progressive expresses an ongoing activity that started in the past and continues into the present.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been<\/u> to that city. <\/em>(present perfect)<\/p>\n

Shane has not been<\/u> working<\/u> on the tractor of late. <\/em>(present perfect progressive)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We would use have been<\/em> when the sentence subject is I, you,<\/em> we<\/em>, or the third-person plural (the children have been<\/u> studying<\/u> grammar all morning; they have been<\/u> studying<\/u> all morning<\/em>).<\/p>\n

If the sentence subject is a third-person singular noun (he, she, it, Courtney<\/em>), we would use the phrase has been<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Courtney has been<\/u> a team leader before.<\/em> (present perfect)<\/p>\n

It has been<\/u> drifting<\/u> through my mind lately. <\/em>(present perfect progressive)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As you can see, have been<\/em> and has been<\/em> have the same related usage and meaning. The main difference between them is the form that is determined by the subject performing the action.<\/p>\n

When and How to Use Had Been<\/em><\/h2>\n

Had been<\/em> is similar to have been <\/em>and has been<\/em>, except that it identifies actions that both began and ended in the past. It is used in the past perfect and past perfect progressive tenses. Where have been<\/em> and has been<\/em> suggest a past point in time that remains open and unfinished, had been<\/em> indicates something that is closed and completed.<\/p>\n

Examples<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Until Roger became manager, the repair records had been<\/u> vague at best. (past perfect)<\/p>\n

I had been<\/u> feeling<\/u> sad before my parents gave me a puppy. (past perfect progressive)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In these examples, the verb refers to something that both started and ended in the past.<\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Fill in each blank with the proper use of have been<\/em>, has been<\/em>, or had been<\/em> according to the tense given.<\/p>\n

1. Nicole _____ working hard these days to improve her grades at school. (present perfect progressive)<\/p>\n

2. We _____ dreaming about this day for months. (present perfect progressive)<\/p>\n

3. The team _____ on a three-game losing streak before tonight’s win. (past perfect)<\/p>\n

4. I don’t know anyone else who _____ to the new theater production yet. (present perfect)<\/p>\n

5. I _____ thinking a lot about my future lately. (present perfect progressive)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. Nicole has been<\/strong> working hard to improve her grades at school.<\/p>\n

2. We have been<\/strong> dreaming about this day for months.<\/p>\n

3. The team had been<\/strong> on a three-game losing streak before tonight’s win.<\/p>\n

4. I don’t know anyone else who has been<\/strong> to the new theater production yet.<\/p>\n

5. I have been<\/strong> thinking a lot about my future lately.<\/p>\n

Stay with Us for Even More Grammar Advice<\/h2>\n

Learning and mastering grammar is a pursuit in which we grow with practice, focus, and time. Our goal is to help you do just that at the level and pace that you choose. Browse our large archive of posts to continue refining your understanding of both the wider and finer points of grammar in American English. You can also leave us a comment or question about the post on this page below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The verb phrases have been, has been, and had been all have closely related meanings. That similarity may at times lead to confusion about the right time to use each construction. In today’s review we will discuss the differences among the phrases so you can use each one correctly when you are speaking or writing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-verbs"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5703"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6645,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5703\/revisions\/6645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}