Have, had or has been? (When to use the Perfect Tenses in English) (2023)

FAQs

When to use has been and have been? ›

Has been is the form used with a third person singular subject (including the pronouns she, he, and it—but not singular they). Have been is the form used with any other subject (including the pronouns I, we, and they). Had been is the past perfect form of be and is used regardless of the subject.

The present perfect continuous is formed with have/has been and the -ing form of the verb. We normally use the present perfect continuous to emphasise that something is still continuing in the present: She has been living in Liverpool all her life. It's been raining for hours.

We would use have been when the sentence subject is I, you, we, or the third person plural (the children have been studying grammar all morning; they have been studying all morning). If the sentence subject is a third-person singular noun (he, she, it, Courtney), we would use the phrase has been.

Reminder: have been is the present perfect tense of to be, and have gone is the present perfect tense of to go. However, in some contexts, the meanings can be different. I have been refers to a completed journey (or journeys) in the past. I have gone can refer to a journey from which the speaker has not yet returned.

Examples: ☛A total of five cars have been stolen from the city center. ☛Birds have been following me all day long. If the subject of the sentence is He – She – It or a singular noun (car, bird, child) we use 'has been'.

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect progressive tense) shows that an action that started in the past continued up until another time in the past. The past perfect continuous tense is constructed using had been + the verb's present participle (root + -ing).

The past perfect is made from the verb had and the past participle of a verb: I had finished the work. She had gone.

If we do not follow “has been” or “have been” with another participle, they are in the present perfect tense, while “had been” is in the past perfect tense. By adding another participle after the past participle “been,” we form the present perfect and past perfect continuous tenses.

This question has-been frequently considered and is at present receiving further consideration. The issue has-been shirked for 40 years, or has not been dealt with because of two world wars in the meantime.

The formula for writing the present perfect continuous tense is: has/have + been + present participle. Examples: I've been relaxing in the park after work lately. He has been organizing his spreadsheet every day to become more efficient.

What tense is have been? ›

The present perfect continuous tense (also known as the present perfect progressive tense) shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. The present perfect continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the present participle (root + -ing).

[M] [T] I had to walk home. [M] [T] I wish I had a car. [M] [T] We had lovely meal. [M] [T] He had already gone.

The word 'had' is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect tense. On the other hand, the word 'had been' is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect continuous tense. This is the main difference between the two words.

"Has been" and "have been" are both in the present perfect tense. "Has been" is used in the third-person singular and "have been" is used for first- and second-person singular and all plural uses. The present perfect tense refers to an action that began at some time in the past and is still in progress.

Had is the past tense and past participle of have1. Had is sometimes used instead of 'if' to begin a clause which refers to a situation that might have happened but did not. For example, the clause 'had she been elected' means the same as 'if she had been elected'.

Had had is the past perfect form of have when it is used as a main verb to describe our experiences and actions. We use the past perfect when we are talking about the past and want to refer back to an earlier past time, Madiini.

Time up to a point in the past

We use the past perfect simple (had + past participle) to talk about time up to a certain point in the past. She'd published her first poem by the time she was eight. We'd finished all the water before we were halfway up the mountain. Had the parcel arrived when you called yesterday?

Past Perfect Verb Tense

The past perfect tense (“I had been there”) is used to describe a past action that happened before another past action.

“Had been” is used to mean that something happened in the past and has already ended. “Have been” and “has been” are used to mean that something began in the past and has lasted into the present time.

Is it there has been or have been? ›

If it is followed by a plural noun then it is ' there have been " e.g. There have been several rumours about the real reason behind the affair. " If it is followed by a singular noun then it is " there has been " e.g. " There has been no rain since the start of the month."

We use have if the subject is or indicates: I, you, we, they. ( I have been…) We use has if the subject is or indicates: he, she, it.

The verb 'been' is always used with has/have/had, and we use it in the perfect tense. Whereas the verb 'being' is used to refer to actions that are going on in the present or in the continuous tense.

Here's an example of an experience: I have been to Japan. Japan is a place that I have been to or traveled to, and we use the present perfect for talking about an event or an action that started in the past and continues into the present time.

"The changes have been made" is correct. It is correct because the subject and verb agree with each other and because changes are made rather than done. 1.

If the subject or subjects of your sentence completed the action in the past before doing another action, use "had completed." ^{X Research source} You should also use "had completed" if you're being specific about when something was completed.

“Is Done” and “Has been done” are both passive voice verb forms. We use “is done” to show something is finished in the present simple and “has been done” for the present perfect simple tense.

Aug 14, 2017 ... "I have been worked" is gramatically incorrect. The correct sentence is "I have been working".