HAS BEEN HAVE BEEN HAD BEEN OR JUST PAST TENSE PROBLEM

Question

I reallyy cant identify when to use those. What is the specific rule of when to use them

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

Here is a link to an answer I posted yesterday on this topic:

Feel free to ask if there is anything you are still not sure about.

CalifJim · Answer

Past

he, she, it, I was
you, we, they were

Present Perfect

he, she, it has been
I, you, we, they have been

Past Perfect

he, she, it, I, you, we, they had been

Don't get confused by the fact that the past requires one word and the other two tenses above require two words. These are all forms of the verb BE.
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Each of the forms shown above can be used in several ways.

1. As the linking verb BE, i.e., followed by a noun, adjective, prepositional phrase, etc.

Jack was a carpenter.
Jenny has been sad lately.
Mary's friends have been in the garden for an hour.

2. As an auxiliary verb with the -ing form of a verb (present participle), to form continuous tenses.

Bill had been waiting for three hours.
Betty's mother has been paying the rent.
The Smiths were driving to the beach when the accident occurred.

3. As an auxiliary verb with the -en form of a verb (past participle), to form passive tenses.

I was invited to the party.
Most of the money has been stolen.
The kidnapped children have been found.
_________________

As for the semantics of the various tenses, it would take a whole book to explain all of that. In general, the past perfect indicates a time before the past. It is the past of the past and the past of the present perfect.

The past indicates or implies a definite (specific) time in the past, but the present perfect indicates only indefinite past time. The past generally tells a story; the present perfect gives a status report.

CJ

HAS BEEN HAVE BEEN HAD BEEN OR JUST PAST TENSE PROBLEM

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