Difference Between Has Been and Was

Has Been vs Was

The difference between “has been” and “was” is that “has been” is used in the present perfect continuous tense whereas “was” is used in the past continuous tense. They are used for two different tenses and for two different times, present and past.

Has been (Present perfect continuous)
“Has been” is used for the present perfect continuous tense. This form is used to refer to something which had started in the past and is still continued in the present tense. Phrases like “in these many past years” or “since the last time,” denote time and are used sometimes for the present perfect continuous tense. For example, “For the past two years he has been sober” and “Since Thursday she has been going to the gym.”

“Has been” is used for the present perfect continuous tense without using the time phrases also. “Has been” already denotes time thus some words like “lately” and “recently” are used to make sentences which again denote that something which was happening in the past is still continuing. For example, “She has been ill lately.” In this sentence we may or may not use the word “lately.” Even if we don’t, it means the same thing.

“Has been” is also used for interrogation. It should be wisely used otherwise it can offend people. When “has been” is used in an interrogative form, it refers to the fact that one can smell, feel, hear the consequences or results of some action which started in the past and is still continuing. For example, “Has he been drinking?” Meaning someone can smell and see the results for someone who has been drinking.

Was (Past continuous)
“Was” is used to denote the past continuous form. This form is used to refer to some action which was going on at some time in the past. The time of the action may or may not be indicated. For example, “She was going to the market.” This example is without a time frame, but we can also write “She was going to the market in the evening.” Here the time frame has been used.

“Was” is also used when the past continuous and simple past tense are used together. The simple past tense is used when a new action takes place in the middle of a longer action taking place in the past tense. For example, “When I saw her, she was going to the market.”

“Was” is also used to show some habit which is persistent. Words like “always” and “continually” are used with “was” to form such sentences of the past continuous form. For example, “He was always on the go.”

Summary:

“Has been” is used for the present perfect continuous tense. This form is used to refer to something which had started in the past and is still continuing in the present tense. “Was” is used to denote the past continuous form. This form is used to refer to some action which was going on at some time in the past. The time of the action may or may not be indicated.