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!

Comments for have been ,has been, had been

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Jul 15, 2014
 awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
by: rajesh

It's really helpful to understand the difference between 'had been' and 'has been'......thank you very much.
Sep 08, 2013
 Great
by: Lucky

Excellent answer... thank you so much..
Jul 30, 2013
 good explaination
by: Anonymous

it was a good explaination. Cleared my doubts
Jul 28, 2013
 Useful
by: Anonymous

Very useful. Thanks!
May 06, 2013
 have been,has been,had been
by: ranjitha

yes, i learnt about the same. its too clear education. thankyou the team.
May 06, 2013
 have been,has been,had been
by: ranjitha

Dear mam,

kindly educate me about have been,has been,had been. and when i should i use the same. please guid me.with examples
Dec 22, 2012
 I need an answer
by: anoop

I have seen the question but I did not see the answer for the question written above. I would like to know the answer as well.
Dec 17, 2012
 Good examples and explanation
by: Ernest

This really helped me a lot. Thank you.
Dec 09, 2012
 has/have been, had been
by: minda

very clear explanation ola zur.
Dec 06, 2012
 Good example
by: Krishna

Excellent examples and very easy words.
May 24, 2012
 Great Answer
by: loknath

Thank you for a nice and clear explanation.
Feb 10, 2012
 simple great
by: swathi

You put everything into words so well, and its very clear. Pls keep up the good work. Thanks
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, and 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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