Distinguishing Were & Had Been

Were vs Had Been

The difference between “were” and “had been” is distinct, resulting in different usage in English grammar. “Were” is the plural form of the verb “be” in past tense, while “had been” is used in past perfect continuous tense as the past perfect continuous tense form of “has been.” This article will provide examples to clarify the usage of these two words.

Key Takeaways

• Were is the plural form of the verb ‘be’ in past tense, typically indicating an action that is already completed.
• Had been is used in past perfect continuous tense, often implying that an action was ongoing in a specific period of the past.
• Had been can also be used to convey the meaning of “visited” or in the sense of “in case” or “suppose.”

What does Were mean?

The auxiliary verb “were” is the plural form of the verb “be” in the past tense, meaning to exist. Observe the two sentences given below:

They were tired.
The students were happy when they saw the new books in the library.

In both sentences, “were” is used in the past tense for “they are tired” and “the students are happy when they see the new books in the library,” respectively.

What does Had Been mean?

Had been is used in the past perfect continuous tense. Observe the two sentences given below:

They had been living in this house for a long time.
She had been writing for quite a long time.

In both sentences, “had been” is used in the past perfect continuous tense, indicating the actions of living and writing have been going on for a long time. When replacing “had been” with “were,” the meaning changes completely:

They were in this house for a long time.

Here, the action is already over and they are no longer there. However, in the past perfect continuous form (had been), the meaning implied they were still living in the said period of the past.

Had been is sometimes used to convey the meaning of “visited” (e.g., “I had been to London twice”) or in the sense of “in case” or “suppose” (e.g., “Had you been in this situation before, you would have realized the truth by now”).

What is the difference between Were and Had Been?

• Were is the plural form of the verb “be” in past tense, while had been is used in past perfect continuous tense.
• Had been is the past perfect continuous tense form of “has been.”
• Had been can be used to convey the meaning of “visited” or in the sense of “in case” or “suppose.”
• Were implies that an action is already completed, while had been implies that an action was going on in the said period of the past when used in the past perfect continuous tense.