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The scenario is: I have started my job in a company a few weeks ago. Now I am telling someone that I am doing this from a short time only, that is only from a while.

The sentences that come in my mind for expressing my view are:

  1. I am been, from a short time an employee of that company.
  2. I have been, from a short time an employee of that company.

I think first sentence(am been) is correct because the second sentence(have been) gives a sense that I no longer work for that company which is false.

Another sentence that comes in my mind is:

3 I am been, for a short an employee of that company.

this 3rd sentence express my intention even worse. The for implies that I am currently doing the job but will soon resign from that job.

So should I use "have been" or "am been"? Please do not explain grammatically(or technically). I learn English by just reading it and by watching movies.

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  • the edit changes your question quite a bit :) Hope my edit helps :)
    – oerkelens
    May 7, 2014 at 11:41
  • Anupam, I have to ask -- when you say "I don't want to explicitly mention that I have left that job", do you mean "I have left the job, but I do not want to say so yet," or "I don't want to imply that I have left, when I am still working there right now, but I might leave"? I understood you to mean the first one, but reading this again, I wonder if you meant the second. If you meant the second one, I don't think there is any sentence that would contain all the shades of meaning you want, without being more explicit.
    – litlnemo
    May 7, 2014 at 22:06
  • @litlnemo I meant the first:"I have left the job, but I do not want to say so yet."
    – user31782
    May 8, 2014 at 3:04
  • I have taken back all of my upvotes and in future I will not upvote because I do not know what is right and what is wrong. Those who know English correct please do upvoting as much as possible so that users get the rep they deserve. Regards.
    – user31782
    May 8, 2014 at 4:45
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    Please do not edit a question in a way that invalidates existing answers. If you want to ask something new, please ask something new.
    – user230
    May 8, 2014 at 15:31

4 Answers 4

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It is "have been". It is basically never correct to say "am been", and it wouldn't mean what you want it to mean anyway.

One possible, correct sentence is:

I have been, for a short time, an employee of that company.

Or (this is more natural for me, but arguably less correct):

I have, for a short time, been an employee of that company.

Either way, it means the same. It says that you were employed a short time ago. It doesn't mean you're about to leave. I see why you might want "from" in this case, and not "for", but don't panic: in this case, "for" does not mean that it will only be "for a short time"! Just that it is "a short time" so far.

Now, you said you didn't want a grammatical or technical explanation, so we can stop there. But in case anyone else wants to know the grammar behind it, I'd like to elaborate a bit anyway.

A construction like "have been" is called the present perfect. It is for actions that are past and finished, at this moment. Its structure is have + past participle.

(There is also a past perfect, which is for actions that were already past and finished at some previous time. Its structure is had + past participle.)

A construction like "am being" is called the present continuous. It is for actions that are happening (right now), or that often happen (not necessarily right now, but before now and, we expect, after now too). Its structure is be + present participle.

But "to be" leads a complex existence. It is also used in ways that are basically unrelated to the present continuous.

A construction like "am been" is called the present passive. It is for actions where the subject ("I", in "I am been") is the recipient or target of the action. Its structure is be + past participle. You might say "I am insulted" (someone gave you an insult), or "I am seen" (someone saw you), or "I am blessed" (someone gave you a blessing).

It would be very unusual to say "I am been", though. That would mean someone was being you. If an English speaker really wanted to say that, they would almost certainly use different words.

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  • I am quite confused on the use of "for". I have always thought that we use "from" to express the interval, e.g. "I'll stay in this house from Sunday to Monday". "I started running from 2:00 AM" ."I am running from 2:00 AM" Do we use "for" only when "have" has been used before? e.g. "I am an employee in this company from(for?) 2 weeks"- would this sentence be incorrect?
    – user31782
    May 7, 2014 at 10:41
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    @Anupam: "From" is used with a single point in time, which is the start (e.g. "from Sunday" or "from 2:00 AM"). "For" is used with a period of time (e.g. "for a short time" or "for many years").
    – Tim Pederick
    May 7, 2014 at 11:02
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    @Anupam You typically wouldn't say "I started running from 2:00 AM" unless you are trying to imply that you are running away from the time. Instead, consider "I started running at 2:00 AM". On the other hand, you would use from to specify an interval: "I started running from 2:00 AM till 4:00 AM every morning". Note the similarity to your other sentence specifying "from Sunday to Monday". From should indicate a location or interval.
    – Doc
    May 7, 2014 at 14:22
  • In "I have been at home." (PP) , you say "I definitely mean I am not at home now." Means the the event of being at home has finished at present. But in this sentence: "I have lived there for five years." (PP), you say "I am definitely still living there." Means the act of being at home has not finished yet at present. How you yourself know these things? They both are PP. Is there any kind of sense that tells whether the act has finished or not?[cont...]
    – user31782
    May 9, 2014 at 12:04
  • [...cont] Moreover in "I have been eating." (PPC) you say: I am not eating right now. Wikipedea says in "I have been eating". In this case the action is not necessarily complete". Means I might be eating at present(right now). Wiki is saying completely contrary from your answer.
    – user31782
    May 9, 2014 at 12:05
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“I have been, for a short time, an employee of the company” is a technically correct way to say the you are still working at the company, but started there only recently. I have been is used for an action started in the past, but not yet ended. It would be more natural to say “I have been an employee of the company for a short time”.

“I had been” is used for an action started in the past, carried out for a period of time, then stopped. But “I had been an employee” says you are not longer working there.

“I am been” is wrong. “I am being” is usually used for an action happening at this moment. “I am being employed at the company” would mean that you were, at this moment, starting employment there, or being offered employment there. You’d be more likely to use it with a more active verb, like “I am being chased by a bear!”

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  • There is another stackexcange site, workplace.stackexchange.com, if you have questions about a job you want to leave, or if you have other questions related to work, but not the english language.
    – Karen
    May 7, 2014 at 20:54
  • The question has been rolled back to its original form, because it's against SE policy to edit questions to ask new questions. Therefore I'm rolling back the answers as well, so they match the question. If the OP reposts their other questions, feel free to click the "edited x minutes ago" link to retrieve your answer to the rest of the question, and post it there.
    – WendiKidd
    May 9, 2014 at 14:37
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Simply put, it should be "have been". That's how you describe an action from the past that continues into the present. Also, "from" should be "for" to be correct but it still sounds awkward.

"I've been working for/at that company for a short time."

"I've worked there for a little while now."

"I'm employed at/by that company and have been for a little while/a short time."

"I've been an employee for that company for a short time/a little while."

Example #1 is wrong due to "am been". They are both forms of the verb "to be" so they aren't combined.

Example #2 has a correct verb but "from" should be "for": "I have been, for a short time, an employee of that company." Since "have been" is present-perfect-continuous*. It implies an ongoing action: your employment as a state of being. *Typo: See comments.

Example #3 is wrong for the same reasons as #1 but you got the preposition right (but left out "time").

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  • 1
    @oerkelens: The present perfect is have + past participle, e.g. "I have eaten." The present perfect continuous is have been + present participle, e.g. "I have been eating". The confusion is because "been" could also be the past participle used in a present perfect, e.g. "I have been asleep". (And have been being + past participle would be present perfect continuous passive, e.g. "I have been being eaten".)
    – Tim Pederick
    May 7, 2014 at 10:12
  • @TimPederick: Thank you for your explanation. I was not really wondering about it though, but the writer of this answer does not seem to grasp it. I hope your comment is informative to him. :)
    – oerkelens
    May 7, 2014 at 11:34
  • The question has been rolled back to its original form, because it's against SE policy to edit questions to ask new questions. Therefore I'm rolling back the answers as well, so they match the question. If the OP reposts their other questions, feel free to click the "edited x minutes ago" link to retrieve your answer to the rest of the question, and post it there.
    – WendiKidd
    May 9, 2014 at 14:38
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I am ... [What I am, generally true] I am an employee. (I am employed, but i may not be at work now.)

I am being ... [What I am be-ing right now - not any other time - only applies in some situations that are very temporary] I am being informative. NOT: I am being an employee.

I have been ... [What I was be-ing in the past, that I keep the experience of] I have been an employee. (I'm not an employee now, but I know what its like to be one.)

I am been ... is incorrect - its 2 different verbs in a row with different tense.

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  • The question has been rolled back to its original form, because it's against SE policy to edit questions to ask new questions. Therefore I'm rolling back the answers as well, so they match the question. If the OP reposts their other questions, feel free to click the "edited x minutes ago" link to retrieve your answer to the rest of the question, and post it there.
    – WendiKidd
    May 9, 2014 at 14:36

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