grammar · neutral
had been + past participle
Past perfect passive: shows that something had been done before a past moment or event.
Examples
“By the time the inspectors arrived, the documents had been signed.”
“The proposal had been approved prior to the meeting.”
“He discovered that the house had been damaged during the storm.”
Band 8 sentence
“By the time regulators issued their statement, most contaminated sites had been remediated by local authorities.”
Collocations
- had been + past participle + before + past event
- had been completed / had been destroyed / had been repaired
Common mistakes
The letter was already sent before they called.→The letter had already been sent before they called.
It had closed by the time I arrived.→It had been closed by the time I arrived.
Say it for a higher band
5was + past participle→6had + past participle (active)→7+had been + past participle
Easily confused
had + past participle
“She had finished the report before the deadline.”
had been + V-ing
“They had been studying for hours before the exam.”
Related words
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In Tenses
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