Have Been/Has Been

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:sl:

Somebody (she's not a native speaker) asked me what the difference is between has been and have been. And when you would use each.

I always thought:

He has
She has
I have
We have
They have

I tried to explain thoroughly without much success. Can somebody simplify these please?
And objects- how would you know what to use for them? :exhausted
 
:sl:

"Have been" is used in first or second person or third person plural; i.e. I have been, You have been, They have been.

"Has been" is used in third person singular only; i.e. He has been, She has been, It has been.

:wa:
 
:sl:

Further explanation:

"Have been" is a phrase, consisting of the traditional plural of respect; this is always applied grammatically in first and second person form. Its use for third person plural is used for plural of number. This however can adapt the plural of respect to third person singular; in such case you would have to construct an implicit form, e.g. he would have been late for lesson.

"Has been" can also be used for collective plurals, e.g. this sequence of events has been known for its catastrophic effects on society.

:wa:
 
English grammar is very very confusing. It's very difficult t understand technical grammar doesn't it. I really see no point in learning stuff like auxiliary verbs, relative pronouns (and why it's different from a conjunction) etc, as long as I know that I'm using proper grammar. But of course as a result, anyone who reads my writing would immediately guess that i'm not a speaker..
 
Hmmmmm, sometimes I feel that Asians speak better English than some English people do.
 
manaal said:
Hmmmmm, sometimes I feel that Asians speak better English than some English people do.
Click to expand...

are you wery sure? this is vat i vas thinking also...

i need to buy new microvawe

my uncle drives a wan
 
Crazy_Lady said:
:sl:

English is a funny language so they say :><:
:wa:
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Agreed!! sometimes you need to look and concentrate more on some words to realize how funny it is (=


Ahmed Waheed said:
:sl:
More than funny, its a weak language; it can be broken almost anywhere, and bridged almost anywhere.

:wa:
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Agreed too! My father was studying English in University and the most thing that irritate him about English these days is telling him about the daily English that is recently used by teenagers and youngsters who invent shortcuts in (internet, SMS....etc) and play with the language as they wish

Way easier than Arabic and its grammar
 
:sl:

Danah said:
Agreed too! My father was studying English in University and the most thing that irritate him about English these days is telling him about the daily English that is recently used by teenagers and youngsters who invent shortcuts in (internet, SMS....etc) and play with the language as they wish

Way easier than Arabic and its grammar
Click to expand...

My knowledge of English was very weak when I finished school. In fact, I didn't get anywhere with English; until I studied Arabic Grammar. I started with a handful of books and lessons with Dr. Ibrahim Surty. He uses grammatical referencing to describe words, phrases and sentence structures; I found this of great help to start studying English from books of grammar.

:wa:
 
Abdullahii said:
are you wery sure? this is vat i vas thinking also...

i need to buy new microvawe

my uncle drives a wan
Click to expand...


Now vat is wrong vith thet? His wan is a big Masaydee.

Seriously, though. English is crazy.

Danah said:
Way easier than Arabic and its grammar
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That's soo true. I feel as though Arabic grammmar always has some little brothers and sisters popping out of nowhere. I can never completely say: I know ALL the rules of Sarf and Nahw. :exhausted
 
Abdullahii said:
are you wery sure? this is vat i vas thinking also...

i need to buy new microvawe

my uncle drives a wan
Click to expand...

We English don't speak English that good innit?

Ever watched an episode of Eastenders?
 
Aisha said:

I can never completely say: I know ALL the rules of Sarf and Nahw. :exhausted
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That is a very dangerous statement that even we Arabic native speakers can't say it easily :exhausted

you are talking about Nahw dearie, not only "she", "he" , and "it" :P
 
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:sl:

Furthermore, "had" is used for perfect past tense, while "have" is past and present OR present and future (imperfect tense).

It makes sense to say "two days ago _____
1. I had a toothache.
2. You had been playing hockey.
3. He had been given a promotion.
4. They had returned home.

It makes sense to say "since yesterday _____
1. I have been taking pain killers.
2. You have been revising for exams.

It does NOT make sense to say "two days ago _____
1. I have a toothache.
2. You have been playing hockey.
3. He have been given a promotion.
4. They have returned home.

It does NOT make sense to say "since yesterday _____
1. I had been taking pain killers.
2. You had been revising for exams.

:wa:
 
Abdullahii said:
are you wery sure? this is vat i vas thinking also...

i need to buy new microvawe

my uncle drives a wan
Click to expand...


Me..No English..Me..bad English.Me little little like.. you how?..you knowaa...you go ...my talk ..bad talk. :( ..yes..my country.. english ruled....but no english...but..more learn...more talk...congrats... me going..you type. Taa taa bye :)


I have heard.. ppl speaking in that^^^ flow too... :)
 
:sl:

manaal said:


Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! The grammar police is here!!
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"The grammar police is here" is used as a collective unit reference, while "the grammar police are here" is used for individuals belonging to the unit. For singular entity; either "policeman" or any such equivalent words may be used.

:wa:
 
^ I cannot, at this moment, think of a comeback good enough to counter what has been said above.
 

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