had been vs was
had been vs have been
had been vs has been
has been vs was
had been vs have been
had been being
could have had been
Please explain all the possible forms.
Would have been expresses an imaginary situation, talking about something that did not happen, using the present perfect simple tense. This is called a past conditional. It usually talks about an imaginary result followed by the action in the past which would have created that scenario.
- I would have been rich by now if I had invested in Apple 20 years ago.
- Mum would have been upset if we hadn’t tidied the house after our party.
“Could have been” illustrates an opportunity to do an action or become something in the past, but which was not taken. It’s similar to would have been in the way that both of them are discussing imaginary situations which did not happen.
- I could have been a doctor, but I hate the sight of blood.
They had the opportunity to be a doctor but didn’t take it.
- You could have been killed if you weren’t wearing a seatbelt.
Here it is fortunate that the action did not happen.
“Had been” is the past perfect tense using the verb “be”. It expresses a state of being which existed but also ended, at some point in the past.
- Tommy had been sick for four days before he started feeling better.
Tommy was sick but is better now.
The difference between was and had been is that “was” simply expresses a state in the past, whereas “had been” expresses a state which started at some point before a particular moment in the past.
“Had been” is also commonly used together with a present participle (-ing verb), which creates the Past Perfect continuous tense. Had + been + present participle.
- I had been working on my client’s project for over four hours when my computer crashed.
This can sometimes be confusing to English learners when combined with the verb being. However, it simply means that a state of being was taking place until an event interrupted it in the past.
- The children had been being naughty until the teacher walked in.
“Having been” expresses a connection between a state of being which happened in the past, and a past or present clause which talks about a result derived from that state.
- Having been trained in CPR, I knew what to do when the woman wasn’t breathing.
This shows that it is the training that resulted in the subject knowing what to do in such an event.
- Having been a teacher for over ten years, Mrs. Smith is good with kids.
The statement points towards the idea that Mrs. Smith is good with kids because of her experience.
“Has/have been” is the present perfect simple form of the verb ‘be.’ Has/have been expresses a state of being which began at some point in the past and is still so.
- Jessica has been sick all week.
She became sick at some point this week and is still sick now.
- Our neighbors have been so nice to us.
They were, and still are, nice.
The difference between was and have been is that “was” only talks about a state in the past, whereas “has/have been” is discussing a state which started at some point before now and has continued to exist until now.
“Has/have been” is also commonly used together with a present participle (-ing verb) to create the present perfect continuous tense. We use it to talk about an action which started sometime in the past and is still continuing now. Has/have + been + present participle.
- She has been cooking all afternoon.
- The activists have been protesting at the oil well all week.
