have been been

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "have been been" is not correct in written English.
It appears to be a typographical error or redundancy. Example: "They have been been working on the project for months."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

58 human-written examples

The photograph and caption have been been changed.

The Guardian - Opinion

Since then, few doctors have been been prosecuted.

The New York Times

If they had, it would not have been been Mr Cioaba's Romania.

The Economist

A million have been been built in the last decade - a great achievement.

The Guardian - Travel

Network operators have been been working with advertising specialists to develop their mobile marketing capabilities.

The New York Times

What have been been the key influences on the design and structure of Elite?

The Guardian - Tech

Many of Mosfilm's recent productions have been been in line with the new patriotic turn.

The Guardian

In other circumstances, you feel as if they really could have been been friends.

The Guardian - TV & Radio

Lately insurers have been been earning less and paying more in claims.

The New York Times

These have been been the troubling questions for policymakers, philanthropists and mitigators of poverty.

The Guardian - Opinion

The Munich gunman was not the first to have been been found with a copy of Why Kids Kill.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using perfect tenses, ensure that the auxiliary verbs are correctly conjugated and not duplicated.

Common error

Be careful not to repeat auxiliary verbs in perfect tenses; using "have been been" is a common mistake that should be avoided by carefully reviewing your sentences for such errors.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "have been been" is an ungrammatical construction resulting from the repetition of the auxiliary verb "been" in perfect tenses. As Ludwig AI identifies, it represents a typographical error or redundancy and doesn't serve a valid grammatical function.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

38%

Science

31%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

8%

Wiki

7%

Reference

6%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "have been been" is a grammatical error arising from the unnecessary repetition of the auxiliary verb "been". Ludwig AI correctly identifies it as a typo or redundancy. While examples of this phrase can be found across various sources, particularly in News & Media, its presence indicates an error rather than a valid grammatical structure. To correct it, simply use "have been" or "has been", depending on the subject. Always proofread your writing to avoid such redundancies and ensure clarity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

have been

Corrects the grammatical error by removing the redundant "been", resulting in a standard perfect tense construction.

has been

Adjusts the verb conjugation to "has" to match a singular subject, maintaining the perfect tense.

had been

Shifts the tense to past perfect, indicating an action completed before another point in the past.

have already been

Adds emphasis on the completion of the action before the present moment.

have recently been

Indicates that the action occurred in the near past.

have long been

Suggests that the action or state has existed for a considerable period.

have always been

Indicates that something has consistently been the case throughout a period.

have continued to be

Implies an ongoing state or condition that has persisted over time.

have come to be

Suggests a process or evolution into a current state.

have now been

Highlights the current state as a result of a past action.

FAQs

What is the correct way to use the perfect tenses?

The perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) require auxiliary verbs such as "have", "has", or "had" followed by the past participle of the main verb. Avoid doubling auxiliary verbs like saying "have been been".

What can I say instead of "have been been"?

The correct phrase is "have been". The duplication of "been" is grammatically incorrect.

Is "have been being" grammatically correct?

Yes, "have been being" is grammatically correct, but it's the present perfect continuous tense. This differs from "have been", which is the present perfect simple tense. Use "have been being" to describe an action that started in the past, continues in the present, and may continue into the future.

How does the use of "have" change with different subjects?

With plural subjects like "they" or "we", use "have". With singular subjects like "he", "she", or "it", use "has". For example, "They have been to Paris" versus "She has been to Paris".