Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms

Difference Between

Home / Language / Grammar / Difference Between Had and Had Been

Difference Between Had and Had Been

August 12, 2011 Posted by Aron

Had vs Had Been

Had and Had been are two words that are often confused as words that denote the same meaning. Actually, they are not so. They are two different words that convey different meanings. The word ‘had’ is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect tense. On the other hand, the word ‘had been’ is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect continuous tense. This is the main difference between the two words.

Observe the two sentences,

1. I had written a letter to him.

2. She had given a flower to him.

In both the sentences, you can find that the verb ‘had’ is used in the past perfect tense. Hence, it takes the verb in its past participle form. In the examples given above, the verbs that are used in their past participle forms are ‘written’ and ‘given’ respectively.

Observe the two sentences,

1. She had been writing to him since then.

2. You had been listening to his advice then.

In both the sentences, you can see that the auxiliary verb ‘had been’ is used in the past perfect continuous tense. In the first sentence, it is used with the verb ‘writing’ and in the second sentence it is used with the verb ‘listening’.

It is interesting to note that the word ‘had been’ is sometime understood in the sense of ‘visited’ as in the sentences,

1. I had been to London twice.

2. She had been to his house many times in the past.

In both the sentences, you can find that the word ‘had been’ is used in the sense of ‘visited’ and hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be ‘I visited London twice’, and the meaning of the second sentence would be ‘she visited his house many time in the past’.

Related posts:

Difference Between Has and HadDifference Between Has and Had Difference Between Had Been and Have BeenDifference Between Had Been and Have Been Difference Between Had and HaveDifference Between Had and Have Difference Between Have Had and HadDifference Between Have Had and Had Difference Between Past and Past ParticipleDifference Between Past and Past Participle

Filed Under: Grammar Tagged With: auxiliary verb 'had', auxiliary verb ‘had been’, had, had been, past perfect continuous tense, past perfect tense, visited

About the Author: Aron

Professor in Social Science and a contributing writer for Difference Between

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request Article

Featured Posts

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and Cold Symptoms

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and SARS

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Influenza

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

Difference Between Coronavirus and Covid 19

You May Like

Difference Between Biosphere and Lithosphere

Difference Between Biosphere and Lithosphere

Difference Between Commissioner of Oath and Notary Public

Difference Between Anaphora and Parallelism

Difference Between Motorola Droid X2 and HTC Thunderbolt

Difference Between Muscle Cells and Nerve Cells

Difference Between Muscle Cells and Nerve Cells

Latest Posts

  • What is the Difference Between Magnesium Citrate Malate and Glycinate
  • What is the Difference Between Appendicitis and Ovarian Cyst
  • What is the Difference Between PAD and Venous Insufficiency
  • What is the Difference Between Saccades and Nystagmus
  • What is the Difference Between Sulfonylureas and Meglitinides
  • What is the Difference Between Pneumatocele and Lung Abscess
  • Home
  • Vacancies
  • About
  • Request Article
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2010-2018 Difference Between. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal.