Has been or Was?

Is there a difference between has been and was?

Has been is called the present perfect tense.
Was is called the past tense.

Look at these sentences.

1. He was busy till late in the night. (He is no longer busy)
2. She was tired after the exercise. (She is no longer tired now)

Both these sentences talk about the state of a person in the past.

Read these sentences.

1. He has been busy this entire week.
2. She has been tired lately.

In both these sentences, what you want to say is that the person has been busy or tired over a period of time.

We cannot write:

He has been busy last week.
She has been tired after the exercise.

You cannot introduce the element of past time with the present perfect.

Try this quiz.

1. It ___________time to leave.

was has been

2. She ____________happy when I last saw her.

has been was

3 Peter __________ in Delhi for the past one month. He returns only next week.

was has been

4 My teacher _____________present at the meeting yesterday.

has been was

5 The dog ____________with us since our neighbour left.

was has been