been been

USAGE SUMMARY

'been been' is not a correct or usable part of a sentence in written English.
You could use 'been' to state that something occurred in the past, such as in the sentence "He had been to the store twice before."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

This has been been corrected.

The Guardian - Film

"It's been been a nightmare".

The New York Times

Pyatt had been been benched for the previous two games.

The New York Times - Sports

It has not been been easy getting published.

The Guardian - Books

That vine has been been growing slimmer and slimmer.

The New York Times

The photograph and caption have been been changed.

The Guardian - Opinion

Since then, few doctors have been been prosecuted.

The New York Times

A price point has not been been announced.

The New York Times

This work has not been been fired in the kiln.

Independent

According to Horowitz, the Living Wage Campaign has been been going on for three years.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Some material has not been been posted legally, so content can disappear.

Cornell University

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always review your writing for duplicated words, especially auxiliary verbs like "been". Accurate use of tenses avoids unnecessary repetition.

Common error

Be cautious of repeating auxiliary verbs such as "been" in perfect tenses. Usually, a single "been" is sufficient to convey the intended meaning. For example, instead of "It has been been corrected", simply write "It has been corrected".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "been been" functions as an incorrect attempt to form a perfect tense. Ludwig AI identifies it as grammatically flawed, arising from unintended duplication of the past participle. Examples highlight instances where the phrase was subsequently corrected.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

79%

Academia

12%

Science

9%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "been been" represents a common grammatical error involving the unnecessary repetition of the past participle "been" in perfect tenses. As Ludwig AI points out, it is not a correct or usable phrase in written English. While examples exist across various sources, they typically indicate instances where the phrase was either corrected or should be avoided. To ensure clarity and grammatical accuracy, always review your writing for such duplications and use the correct perfect tense construction with a single "been". Alternatives such as "has been", "have been", or "had been" should be used based on the intended tense.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

has been

Correct grammatical construction for present perfect tense; single 'been' avoids repetition.

had been

Correct grammatical construction for past perfect tense; single 'been' avoids repetition.

have been

Correct grammatical construction for present perfect tense with plural subject; single 'been' avoids repetition.

already been

Emphasizes that something has previously occurred; avoids repetition.

has actually been

Adds emphasis on the action's reality; replaces doubled past participle.

had previously been

Emphasizes that something occurred before another event in the past; avoids repetition.

have typically been

Indicates a usual or common occurrence; replaces doubled past participle.

being

Represents the continuous or ongoing state; replaces duplicated past participle.

it was

Simplifies the sentence structure to avoid the need for a perfect tense.

it is

Simplifies to present tense; avoids the perfect construction that leads to repetition.

FAQs

Why is "been been" considered grammatically incorrect?

The phrase "been been" is typically incorrect because it involves the unnecessary repetition of the past participle "been". In perfect tenses, "been" is only needed once after auxiliary verbs like "has", "have", or "had".

When might I accidentally use "been been"?

Accidental repetition often occurs when editing text or when constructing complex sentences involving perfect tenses. Always proofread to catch such errors.

What are some alternatives to using "been been" in a sentence?

Instead of "been been", use the correct perfect tense construction with a single "been", like "has been", "have been", or "had been" depending on the intended tense.

Is there any situation where "been been" could be correct?

No, "been been" is not a correct or usable phrase in written English. The instances found are errors, as specified by Ludwig AI.