have been construction

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "have been construction" is not correct in standard written English.
It may be an attempt to use the present perfect continuous tense, but it lacks proper context and structure. Example: "They have been constructing the new building for several months."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

There have been construction workers taking breaks from walking steel beams, wandering tourists and people who spend their working hours in nearby skyscrapers.

The New York Times

Updated, 7 40 p.m. | Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and other top New York City officials held a news conference early Saturday evening to discuss the construction accident that occurred at 2 22 p.m., when a giant tower crane collapsed and crushed a town house, killing four people — all of whom were believed to have been construction workers.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

Perhaps the industry hardest hit so far has been construction equipment.

The New York Times

The room was small, foggy with dust, ripe with the smell of chemical reagents (there had been construction recently in the alley), poorly painted.

Vice

Roughly 500,000 of the state's job losses have been in construction, finance, real estate and industries related to construction.

The New York Times

Schools have been closed, construction banned, and private cars restricted from driving on certain days.

The New Yorker

Trees near areas that recently have been under construction should be carefully checked, since excavation equipment can damage roots.

The New York Times

The others have been under construction in the second phase project of NSRL.

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment

I work as a pipe fitter and supervisor and have been on construction sites all over the world.

BBC

Most of the deaths have been of construction workers, homeless people and the elderly.

Huffington Post

Since Symbiocité announced their plans for development in 2013, environmentalists have been fighting construction in court.

Vice

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing ongoing building activities, use grammatically correct phrases such as "construction has been underway" or "construction has been ongoing".

Common error

Avoid directly linking "have been" with the noun "construction". Instead, use a participle or gerund form, such as "constructing" or "under construction", to create a grammatically sound sentence.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "have been construction" is grammatically incorrect. The correct form would typically involve a participle or a different sentence structure to properly convey the intended meaning. As Ludwig AI notes, this may be an attempt to use the present perfect continuous tense, but lacks proper context and structure.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

33%

Science

33%

Wiki

33%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "have been construction" is generally considered grammatically incorrect in standard English. As Ludwig AI suggests, this attempts to use the present perfect continuous tense but lacks the correct structure. Instead, use phrases like "construction has been underway", "construction is ongoing", or rephrase the sentence to accurately describe the situation. While examples exist across news, science, and wiki sources, it's crucial to prioritize grammatically correct alternatives for clearer and more professional communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

construction has been underway

Replaces the verb phrase to correctly indicate ongoing construction.

construction has been ongoing

Emphasizes the continuous nature of the construction work.

there has been construction activity

Focuses on the activity rather than the state of construction.

construction projects have been in progress

Specifies that multiple projects are currently active.

construction efforts have been proceeding

Highlights the work and progress of the construction.

building work has been happening

Uses more informal language to describe the construction.

development has been in progress

Broader term including other types of development beyond just building.

building construction has been active

Adds adjective 'active' to specify the construction type

infrastructure projects have been constructed

Focus on infrastructure specific projects

the site has seen building activity

Emphasizing the building as the subject

FAQs

What is the correct way to use "construction" with a present perfect tense?

Instead of "have been construction", use phrases like "construction has been underway" or "construction has been ongoing" to properly describe a process that started in the past and continues to the present.

Can I use "have been" with a noun like "construction"?

Typically, "have been" is followed by a verb in the present participle form (e.g., "have been building") or an adjective. To use "construction" correctly, rephrase to something like "there has been construction".

What are some alternatives to the incorrect phrase "have been construction"?

Better alternatives include "construction is underway", "construction is ongoing", or "they have been constructing" depending on the intended meaning.

How can I describe a building project that started in the past and is still happening now?

Use phrases such as "the building has been under construction", or "they have been working on the construction" to accurately convey the ongoing status.