Question about “had been” and “has been”

Understanding had been vs. has been

Hi Jonathan,

Here is another sentence from Blinktrainer:

“His grandfather has been dead for two years.”

If I rewrite this as “His grandfather had been dead for two years,” is the sentence right?

And what is the difference between the two sentences?

The first sentence is correct. It simply means that his grandfather died two years ago (from now,) with a slight nuance that only makes sense in context.

The second sentence is not correct by itself.

If you are referring to some event in relation to the time his grandfather died or the event of his dying, it would be OK.

This additional information doesn’t need to be in the same sentence, but it needs to be in context.

For instance,

  • His grandfather had been dead for two years before he found out (that he had died).
  • His grandfather had been dead for two years when his grandmother re-married.
  • His grandfather had been dead for two years when his grandmother died.
  • His grandfather had been dead for two years before they started to wonder how he had died.
  • His grandfather had been dead for two years before he showed up as a vampire.

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