Had Been vs Have Been
Difference between had been and have been is a topic worth looking into as had been and have been are closely related, but differ greatly in the grammatical usage. First of all, it should be stated that had been is the past tense of have been. That is why we say that these two expressions have been and had been are closely related. However, since have been and had been belong to two different tenses, present and past tenses, their grammatical usage is different. Once you add a verb in its –ing form to the end of each of these expressions, have been and had been, then both of them can be used in the perfect continuous forms of present and past tenses.
What does Had Been mean?
We can say that the expression had been is used in the past perfect continuous tense as in the sentence given below.
It had been raining then.
In this sentence, you can see that the word had been is used to convey the idea of some action that was taking place when the person explaining it was present at a particular place. Note that this incident had taken place in the past. Sometimes the expression had been is used to convey the sense of ‘visit’ as in the sentence given below.
I had been to London thrice.
In this sentence, you get the idea that the person paid a visit to London three times.
What does Have Been mean?
On the other hand the word, have been is used in the present perfect continuous tense as in the sentence given below.
I have been telling the truth regarding this matter from day one.
In this sentence, you can see that the word have been is used to convey the idea that the person is continuing to tell the truth till the time he spoke this sentence. You can see that as this sentence is in the present perfect continuous tense we are speaking about an action that began in the past and has continued to the present. At the same time, the expression have been is used to convey the sense of ‘visit’ in an informal way as in the sentence given below.
I have been there.
The informal way of conveying the idea of ‘visit’ can be seen in this sentence. It is interesting to note that the expression have been suggests emphasis as in the sentence given below.
I have been saying this for a long time.
What is the difference between Had Been and Have Been?
• The expression had been is used in the past perfect continuous tense. On the other hand, the expression have been is used in the present perfect continuous tense. This is the main difference between the two expressions have been and had been.
• Sometimes the expression had been is used to convey the sense of ‘visit.’
• At the same time, the expression have been is used to convey the sense of ‘visit’ in an informal way .
These are the differences between the two usages have been and had been.