had been retaining

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'had been retaining' is correct and usable in written English.
It is used in the past perfect tense, which is used to talk about something that had happened before another past event. For example: My mother had been retaining a lot of water before the doctor diagnosed her with heart disease.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

"This really started with my kid," the father, David Sills IV, said, and brought up the quarterback-coaching guru Steve Clarkson, whose services the Sills family had been retaining for years.

The New Yorker

Unfortunately for Facebook, news of improved media-sharing capabilities comes at a time when the company is under siege for its mishandling of user data, and, most recently, another reveal that it had been retaining videos that users believed to be deleted.

TechCrunch

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

A $100 million insurance policy had been retained.

The New York Times

The original menu had been retained, and the food was neither good nor bad.

The New Yorker

Mr Greer, who had been retained by Mr Al Fayed, was identified as the middleman.

The Guardian

Elwood Kurtz, the owner of Homestead Land Services, had been retained by Mr. Percudani to validate property records.

The New York Times

He had been retained by Merrill, at what point I don't know.

The New Yorker

Police said Mr Talbot had been retained in custody for questioning.

Independent

What remained wouldn't be getting the emphasis if the problems had been retained".

Forbes

Shortly after the NBC report, Scott Paterno, Joe's son, denied that a lawyer had been retained.

Huffington Post

We excluded loci in which all alleles had been retained.

Plosone

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "had been retaining" to describe an action of keeping or holding onto something that occurred over a period in the past before another past event.

Common error

Be careful not to confuse "had been retaining" (an action of keeping) with "had been retained" (meaning someone or something was kept or hired). For example, "The company had been retaining the lawyer" versus "The lawyer had been retained by the company".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "had been retaining" functions as a verb phrase in the past perfect continuous tense. It describes an action that was in progress before another action took place in the past. Ludwig AI confirms its usability in written English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

66%

Science

34%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "had been retaining" is a grammatically sound verb phrase in the past perfect continuous tense. It signifies a continuous action of keeping or holding something before a specific past event. Ludwig AI confirms that it is usable in written English. While relatively rare in frequency, as shown in Ludwig's examples, it is primarily found in News & Media and Science contexts. When using this phrase, it's crucial to differentiate it from "had been retained" and to ensure the context aligns with the intended meaning of continuous past possession. It is recommended to use other alternatives if the goal is not to explicitly put emphasis on the duration of the action.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

had been keeping

Emphasizes the act of maintaining possession over a period.

had been holding onto

Highlights the resistance to letting something go.

had been preserving

Focuses on maintaining something in its original condition.

had been maintaining

Implies consistent effort to keep something at a certain level.

had been conserving

Stresses careful management and avoidance of waste.

had been storing

Highlights the act of accumulating something for later use.

had been accumulating

Focuses on the gradual increase in quantity over time.

had been stockpiling

Implies gathering a large quantity of something, often for strategic reasons.

had been amassing

Suggests collecting something in large quantities, often wealth or power.

had been harboring

Implies secretly keeping something, often a feeling or thought.

FAQs

How can I use "had been retaining" in a sentence?

Use "had been retaining" to describe a past action of keeping something before another event in the past. For example, "The museum had been retaining the artifact for decades before the government requested its return".

What does "had been retaining" mean?

The phrase "had been retaining" indicates that someone or something had been keeping or holding onto something continuously over a period in the past, prior to another past event or time.

What is the difference between "had been retaining" and "had retained"?

"Had been retaining" suggests a continuous action over time, whereas "had retained" implies a completed action in the past. For example, "They had been retaining counsel for years" versus "They had retained counsel last year".

Are there synonyms for "had been retaining"?

Yes, depending on the context, you could use synonyms such as "had been keeping", "had been holding onto", or "had been preserving". For example, "The organization "had been keeping" the information confidential".