have been ,has been, had been

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have been ,has been, had been

Hello. Could you tell me when and where to use have been, has been, had been? I'd really appreciate it if you could give me a couple of examples for each. Thanks so much!

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have been ,has been, had been

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Dec 16, 2011

Good explanation
by: raja sundaram

Good illustration!

Nov 10, 2011

Answer
by: Ola Zur

This would be quite a long answer.

I think the best is to check these words in a good and simple dictionary:

http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

Sep 20, 2011

to, for ,in on
by: Anonymous

could you tell me when and where to use to, for, in, on. hope that you can help me thank you very much....

Aug 23, 2011

superbbbbbb by sarath kolli
by: Anonymous

I got very good knowledge from this nice explanation!

Jul 28, 2011

Saman's Comment
by: Anonymous

So clear and understandable explanations with practical examples.

Thanks a lot. Understood very well.

Jul 12, 2011

have been ,has been, had been
by: Angel007

Good explanation. I have understood clearly.
Thank You.

Jun 13, 2011

have been ,has been, had been
by: Roberto Lembo

Very, very, very gooooddddd!
Your explanation is GREAT.
THANKS

Feb 25, 2011

Answer
by: Ola Zur

Sure! That's what I'm here for :)

"Have been", "has been" and "had been" are all different forms of the verb BE.

Here are some examples with explanations:

I have been a designer since 1994.
Meaning: I started my design career at 1994, and it continued up until now.
This sentence is in the Present Perfect tense.

You have been away from work since last week.
Meaning: You left work last week, it haven't come to work since.
This sentence is in the Present Perfect tense.

Lisa has been a great teacher to us for many years.
Meaning: Lisa started teaching us many years ago. She continued to teach us up until now, and she was great.
This sentence is also in the Present Perfect tense.

These are the rules for the Present Perfect tense:
I, you, we, they --> HAVE BEEN
He, she, it --> HAS BEEN

But other than that, HAVE BEEN and HAS BEEN have the same meaning.

Now, HAD BEEN is in the Past Perfect tense.
Joe had been a good doctor before he started losing his memory.
Meaning: Joe used to be a good doctor. Then, at some point, he started to lose his memory. So he wasn't a good doctor any more.

They had a lovely marriage until the mother in law moved in.
Meaning: They used to get along very well, but then the mother in law moved in to live with them, and then they started to have problems.

Ola Zur is the editor of www.really-learn-english.com, an illustrated guide to English.

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