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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Has been vs. was

A. My greatest achievement to date has been the award I received last year.
B. My greatest achievement to date was the award I received last year.

1. Which of the sentences above is grammatical?
2. If both are possible, what is the difference?

3. Should I use 'has been' because "to date" seems like saying "so far", but I wonder if "has been" is correct because of the expression "last year" at the end of the sentence? Although I believe "last year" refers to the time of receiving the award, not to the achievement I have had so far in life. Please enlighten me.
  

Top answer

Of the two, A is better. However, I would use the simple present: my greatest achievement is ...

— Philip

  • Of the two, A is better.
  • However, I would use the simple present: my greatest achievement is ...
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16 Answers
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Of the two, A is better.

However, I would use the simple present: my greatest achievement is...
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Thank you, Philip, for the answers.

But what is the difference between the two below?
Why is 'is' better than 'has been' here?

My greatest achievement to date has been...
My greatest achievement to date is...
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AnonymousA. My greatest achievement to date has been the award I received last year.
B. My greatest achievement to date was the award I received last year.
Use A. "to date" suggests a period of time starting in the past and lasting until the present. The present perfect is just what you need for that. Don't worry about "received last year". That's in
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Thank you, CJ, for your input on this. Your explanation is just what I needed to know. Emotion: smile

I just have a couple of questions
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Hi. Please help me with this. Do you think this is correct? I think a present perfect tense would be better in the following context.

I would like to thank those members who helped to make our group such a vibrant one these past three years.
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Anonymous do you think the following are also correct?

My greatest achievement is the award I received last year.
My greatest achievement to date is the award I received last year.

If 'is' is possible in either version above, how is 'is' different in meaning from 'has been' in the sentence?
'is' is possible is both of those. The differen
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AnonymousDo you think this is correct? I think a present perfect tense would be better in the following context.

I would like to thank those members who helped to make our group such a vibrant one these past three years.
I agree, though there's is nothing wrong with what you have. The improvement would be minimal.
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Thank you very much, CJ. Your explanation is very clear that I now understand the difference between 'is' and 'has been' in the example. Great help.
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Hi CJ,

I've come up with other examples below. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

A. I was able to make contributions to the organization's goal. My past accomplishments (are, have been, were) testimony to that.

B. The key objective of last position was to ensure accurate reporting. My record (shows, has shown, showed) that I was able
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4. Just an additional question, will the answer in #1 be different a) if I'm still part of the organization, and (b) if I'm no longer part of the organization?
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