What is the difference between has been and had been

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Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Asked 5 years, 6 months ago. Active 5 years, 6 months ago. Viewed 1. Improve this question. Venu Venu 1 1 gold badge 1 1 silver badge 4 4 bronze badges. The fact has not changed in the present. They have been divorced for several years. People have been agitating for better roads. People have not ended the agitation. He has been looking for a bride.

He continues to look for a bride we assume, since we have no confirmation that he has stopped. She has been punished for not doing her homework. She continues to be punished. It has been a wonderful day.

Maria has been very worried. Maria continues to be worried. Someone has been meaning to tell you a secret. Someone continues to mean to tell you a secret. More examples: I had been expecting you to come last week.

The expectation is no longer there now since last week is completed. He had once been arrested for drunk driving. He was arrested in the past. They had been friends once but they quarrelled. They are no longer friends. We had tried to sell our car but nobody would buy it. We are no longer trying to sell our car. He had been a great support to his mother while she was alive. Since the mother is no longer alive, the support has ceased. 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. It is interesting to note that the expression have been suggests emphasis as in the sentence given below.

On the other hand, the expression have been is used in the present perfect continuous tense.