What is the difference between had been and would have been?

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I have this doubt when to use these two terms; for example:

If I had been with you, I might be taking care.

If I would have been with you, I might be taking care.

Which is correct, and, if there is a difference between the two, how would you explain that
difference?
grammar grammaticality
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edited Sep 30 '13 at 9:38
J.R.
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asked Sep 30 '13 at 6:13
Anna.P
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1 Answer
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A very thoughtful and hard question indeed; it pushed me to research a bit on the subject
Continuous Conditional.

Your first example is a past perfect continuous sentence. In general, it is used to indicate an
action was happening before another action happened. However, it can also be used to indicate
past unreal condition. For example:

If I had been talking to him when he said that, I would have punched him in the face.

But fortunately, he was not talking to him when he said that and that's how he missed my punch.

So according to this theory, your first sentence which is

If I had been with you, I might be taking care.

is absolutely meaningful and grammatical.

Now, there is a vital fact when using these type of constructs as described by
data.grammarbook.com,

When talking about something that didnt happen in the past, many English speakers use the
conditional perfect (if I would have done) when they should be using the past perfect (if I had
done).

For example, you find out that your brother saw a movie yesterday. You would have liked to
see it too, but you hadnt known he was going. To express this, you can use an if then clause.
The correct way to say this is with the past perfect in the if clause, and the conditional perfect
in the then clause:

Correct: If I had known that you were going to the movies, [then] I would have gone too.

The conditional perfect can only go in the then clause it is grammatically incorrect to use
the conditional perfect in the if clause:

Incorrect: If I would have known that you were going to the movies, I would have gone too.

More examples:

Correct: If I had gotten paid, we could have traveled together.

Incorrect: If I would have gotten paid, we could have traveled together.

Correct: If you had asked me, I could have helped you.

Incorrect: If you would have asked me, I could have helped you.

The same mistake occurs with the verb wish. You cant use the conditional perfect when
wishing something had happened; you again need the past perfect.

Correct: I wish I had known.

Incorrect: I wish I would have known.

Correct: I wish you had told me.

Incorrect: I wish you would have told me.

Correct: We wish they had been honest.

Incorrect: We wish they would have been honest.

So this theory, in a nutshell, says you can't use "would" part with the "if" clause, rather it should be used
in the result clause. So, according to this theory, your second sentence stands incorrect.
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edited Sep 30 '13 at 9:41
J.R.
31.6k31966

answered Sep 30 '13 at 8:34
Mistu4u
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I like how you called it a theory. Reality is that people say things like "I wish you would've told me"
rather often, although I do agree that "I wish you had told me" sounds better, particularly in more
formal settings. J.R. Sep 30 '13 at 9:45


@J.R., I was quite sure about how people really follow these rules and yes, you are right that I was quite
conscious about using the word theory. Despite the fact on usage, I went on with the grammaticality
part seeing the OP is a non-native speaker. Mistu4u Sep 30 '13 at 10:43


I have not heard "would have..." in this usage outside of US English, in which it seems to be quite
common. It's something I only noticed relatively recently and it always grates on me a bit! nxx Ja

Had vs Had Been
Had and Had been are two words that are often confused as words that denote the same meaning.
Actually, they are not so. They are two different words that convey different meanings. The word
had is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect tense. On the other hand, the word
had been is an auxiliary verb, and it is used in the past perfect continuous tense. This is the
main difference between the two words.
Observe the two sentences,
1. I had written a letter to him.
2. She had given a flower to him.
In both the sentences, you can find that the verb had is used in the past perfect tense. Hence, it
takes the verb in its past participle form. In the examples given above, the verbs that are used in
their past participle forms are written and given respectively.
Observe the two sentences,
1. She had been writing to him since then.
2. You had been listening to his advice then.
In both the sentences, you can see that the auxiliary verb had been is used in the past perfect
continuous tense. In the first sentence, it is used with the verb writing and in the second
sentence it is used with the verb listening.
It is interesting to note that the word had been is sometime understood in the sense of visited
as in the sentences,
1. I had been to London twice.
2. She had been to his house many times in the past.
In both the sentences, you can find that the word had been is used in the sense of visited and
hence, the meaning of the first sentence would be I visited London twice, and the meaning of
the second sentence would be she visited his house many time in the past.

Read more: http://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-had-and-vs-had-
been/#ixzz39NLikVWd


Verb Tenses: Past Continuous
PAST CONTINOUS
Past continuous - form
The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb to be
(was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
Subject was/were base-ing
They were watching

Affirmative
She was reading
Negative
She wasn't reading
Interrogative
Was she reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn't she reading?
Example: to play, past continuous
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I was playing I was not playing Was I playing?
You were playing You were not playing Were you playing?
He, she, it was playing She wasn't playing Was she playing?
We were playing We weren't playing Were we playing?
You were playing You weren't playing Were you playing?
They were playing They weren't playing Were they playing?

Past continuous, function
The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past
and was still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or
incompleteaction in the past.
It is used:
often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g.
"The sun was shining and the birds were singing as the elephant came out of
the jungle. The other animals were relaxing in the shade of the trees, but the
elephant moved very quickly. She was looking for her baby, and she didn't
notice the hunter who was watching her through his binoculars. When the
shot rang out, she was running towards the river..."
to describe an unfinished action that was interrupted by another event or
action, e.g. "I was having a beautiful dream when the alarm clock rang."
to express a change of mind: e.g. "I was going to spend the day at the beach
but I've decided to go on an excursion instead."
with 'wonder', to make a very polite request: e.g. "I was wondering if you
could baby-sit for me tonight."
More examples
They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
When we arrived he was having a bath.
When the fire started I was watching television.
Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used. See list in
Present continuous