We need to learn English grammar to speak the language effectively. If we speak with grammar mistakes or with broken sentences or sentences with improper meaning, then it won’t be appropriate for the other person who hears us speaking. The two important words which are often used in English have, and the other one is have been.
Have vs Have Been
The main difference between Having and Have Been is that have is used for expressing sentences that are in the present perfect tense. But have been being used for expressing sentences that are in the present perfect continuous tense. The verb form that is used in have is an irregular verb. But the verb form used have been being a verbal phrase.
Have is used in English to hold something or to possess. This is used for indicating the possession which is available in the present and not something that happened in the past. This is also used alongside all the pronouns. It cannot be used with him and her. If you want to describe something in a singular form, then you should have it in that sentence instead of using had.
Have Been being used in English to indicate the process which we have started and it is still going. It is mostly used to tell that the process has been completed or something that we had completed in the past. It is used in the sentence to describe it to the other person. It can be used with I, you, we, and all. But we cannot use it with him or her. For that, we need to use has been instead of have been.
Comparison Table Between Have and Have Been
| Parameters of Comparison | Have | Have Been |
| Definition | It is a sentence used in English for describing irregular verbs | It is used for describing past actions |
| Example | I have to take care of this | They have been talking for 3 hours |
| Use | It is used to possess or contain something | It is used for the first and second person singular and can be used in all plural uses |
| Verb type | It is an independent verb | It is a verbal phrase |
| Tense | It is used to express present perfect tense | It is used to express present perfect continuous tense |
What is Have?
Have comes under irregular verb type. This is used in grammar. It is used by people to express when they have completed something. Without using have, they cannot frame that sentence. It is very important when we speak or when we write. This can be used to frame many sentences in English. Children who are learning it for the first time will start with simple examples so that they can understand it easily.
Likewise, if you are starting to learn English grammar and encounter this have a word, you have to start it with simple sentences. The best way to do this is by practicing it in your daily sentences. Try to use this word in the daily sentences that you speak. This will help you to find the areas that you are making mistakes. This is used in the present form, which means you are using it at the present moment and not for describing any events that happened in the past.
For describing any events that happened in the past, you need to use had. It is used for describing past tenses. Sometimes, confusion will arise on people that when they should use have and when they should use has. At that time, they have to find the tense as well as the singular and plural forms that they are going to use in the sentence. When you are going to ask somebody whether they have something, then you should have it in that sentence instead of using some other verb form.
What is Have Been?
Have been used to indicate something that they have been doing for a long time. That is, the process will be going from what they have started till now. In grammar, have been is used for describing perfect present tense. It is also sometimes confused with have gone. In some sentences, the meaning will not be the same, and they will differ. It is used for describing the first person and second person singular.
Not only it is used in singular forms, but it is also used in plural forms. To put it in simple words, when we want to describe the other person that we have started something in the past, and the process got finished, then, in that case, we use have been for that finished process. If we use have in that place to describe that process, then the sentence will give a different meaning. To make it look like the process has been completed, we should use have been in the sentence.
To understand this more in-depth, we should start using it in the sentences that we speak daily. It will help us to understand the difference between them. The process that is completed. For example, you cannot say five cars have stolen. You will have to describe it using five cars that have been stolen. Then only it will make the sentence with complete meaning.
Main Differences Between Have and Have Been
- Have is used in sentences for describing irregular verbs. On the other hand, have been being for describing actions that happened in the past.
- An example of have is I have to take care of this document. On the other hand, an example of have been being I have been doing this work for 11 hours.
- Have is used to possess or contain something. On the other hand, have been being used for first, second person singular, and also in other plural forms as well.
- The verb type of have is an irregular verb. On the other hand, the verb type of have been is verbal phrase.
- Have is used for expressing present perfect tense. On the other hand, have been being used for expressing present perfect continuous tense.
Conclusion
Both of them are used in English in our day-to-day conversation. Without them, we cannot make any conversation with the other person when we are describing something to them. For that, we need to understand when and where to use them. To make that work, we need to understand the grammar rules and the verbs that are used in them.
Just understanding the rules and learning some basic examples will not help. We need to do lots of practice so that we can understand the difference between them and find why they are used in this sentence and why not in other sentences. This will help us to learn a lot and faster.
References
- https://search.informit.org/doi/abs/10.3316/aeipt.113365
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/003368828401500208