This page "was vs has been" left intentionally

Question

This page was left blank intentionally.This page has been left blank intentionally.Which one should I use for the blank page in a document? I have seen both in documents? I understand the meanings but I don't know which one is better and why.

BarbaraPA · Accepted Answer

In this context, it makes no difference at all.
You can also say "This page intentionally left blank" as a sort of headline style.

I'd use the fewest words possible - there is no meaning there.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you. I see that all of them are fine. And BarbaraPA's reply is better if any confusion

Anonymous · Answer

BarbaraPAYou can also say "This page intentionally left blank" as a sort of headline style.

Is "left" a past participle in "This page intentionally left blank"?

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AnonymousIs "left" a past participle in "This page intentionally left blank"?

Well, it's not the noun: Please stand to the left.
It's not the adjective: The left side is damaged.
It's not the adverb: Turn left, please.

What's left? The past participle.
It is also passive voice:
This page intentionally left blank by the printer.

Anonymous · Answer

Please stand to the left. ("Left" is a noun here)
The left side is damaged. ("Left" is an adjective here)
Turn left, please. ("Left" is an adverb here)

What's left? ("Left" is the past participle and passive voice of "leave" here)

This page intentionally left blank.
("Left" is the past participle form and passive voice of "leave" here)
(There is also a reduction here: This page [which/that was/has been] intentionally left blank)

Femtoangstrom · Answer

In a situation like that, simpler is better.  Why not just say "this page is blank"?  I often see documents in which the word 'intentionally' is there, but it seems unnecessary to me, and it makes me smile, because it suggests that there are some other pages which have been UNintentionally left blank!

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Femtoangstrombecause it suggests that there are some other pages which have been UNintentionally left blank!

That's exactly right. If you see a blank page without those words, then something is missing from the document; perhaps a fault in the printing process.

You can blame the lawyers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intentionally_blank_page

Jack Suber, a respected attorney and printer with years of experience in preparing important financial documents and Supreme Court briefs, remarked:

"The phrase, 'This page is intentionally left blank,' is printed on blank pages so that the reader can be comfortably assured that there hasn't been a printing error that left out one page of vital, legally required information."
He added, "With the same goal, some attorneys insist on the phrase, 'Remainder of Page Intentionally Left Blank,' when the printed text does not run all the way to the bottom margin of a page."

There is a web site devoted to this principle: http://www.this-page-intentionally-left-blank.org/

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, Femtoangstrom's reply is another way of this issue <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/> When "This page has been intentionally left blank" is used, I think the writer's action of leaving the page blank is emphasized, because he or she has just left the page blank, but when "This page was intentionally left blank" is used, I think that what readers will see is emphasized, because the page was already left blank when it is read by readers. But when a Google search is made, "This page has been intentionally left blank" has a higher rank, I think that people prefer emphasizing the writer's action of leaving the page blank.

This page "was vs has been" left intentionally

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