Question

7 March

Portuguese (Portugal)

English (US)

Question about English (US)

What is the difference between "Had been" and "Have been" ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.

Hi everyone! I wanted tips on how to know when to use "had been or have been" in a sentence.Thanks a lot!

Answers

cassia_sago

7 March

Featured answer

English (US)

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.
“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”
“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”

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HalfSanitized

7 March

English (US)

“Had been” is used as a past tense for when you were doing something a long time ago. For example, “I had been eating pizza almost every day.” “Have been” is mainly used when you are still doing something, but just not at that moment. “I have been trying to eat more healthy.”

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cassia_sago

7 March

English (US)

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.
“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”
“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”

See a translation

1 like

aninhabertin

7 March

Portuguese (Portugal)

@cassia_sago Can I say “I am working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.” or is it wrong?

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cassia_sago

7 March

English (US)

@aninhabertin No, that wouldn’t be right. If you wanted to use ‘I am’ in that sentence, it would be more like “I am working at this company, but I’m worried it will go out of business.” or “I am working at this company right now, but...”

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What is the difference between "Had been" and "Have been" ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”

“Had been” is used as a past tense for when you were doing something a long time ago. For example, “I had been eating pizza almost every day.” “Have been” is mainly used when you are still doing something, but just not at that moment. “I have been trying to eat more healthy.”

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”

@aninhabertin No, that wouldn’t be right. If you wanted to use ‘I am’ in that sentence, it would be more like “I am working at this company, but I’m worried it will go out of business.” or “I am working at this company right now, but...”

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.
“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”
“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”

Generally, ‘Had been’ is past tense, while ‘have been’ is ongoing.
“She had been working at the company for three years, before it went out of business.”
“I have been working at this company for three years, but i’m worried it will soon go out of business.”