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I'm trying to understand the nuances of the present perfect tense with "has/have been."

Is it always used to indicate an action that started in the past and continues to the present?

For example, is the sentence "He has been my favorite actor for years" always implying he is still my favorite actor today?

I usually hear 'Where have you been?' is used and they use it when the person is with them. So what they mean is they were implying the past just before now.

I've looked at some grammar resources, but I'm still unsure if there are cases where "has/have been" might suggest a completed action in the past.

I think grammars simply say that 'has/have been' is used 'for states/situations that started in the past and are still going on’. This is true, but incomplete and unhelpful. To talk about states/situations that started in the past and are still going on, we would normally use present tense (everything that is going on now started in the past!), using "has/have been" wouldn't add anything extra.
example, I've been at my friend's house = I am at my friend's house (Using perfect here doesn't add anything extra to me), but If I used 'I've been at my friend's house since morning', now I would use the present perfect since it is using duration.

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  • He has been my favorite actor for years without any further qualification means "He is still my favourite actor, and he has been for years." He has been my favorite actor for years, but not any more is also fine and means "He was my favourite actor for years until very recently." You can use the present perfect because it's only just stopped being the case. I'm sure this is a duplicate though.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:43

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No. For example "I have been to Wales" does not mean that my trip to Wales continues until the present time. It does mean that your memories of Wales are relevant to the present.

Roughly there are two uses of present perfect. The "since" usage: "I've been living in Wales since 1995" This means "until the present". And the "experience" use: "I've been to Wales" describes an action in the past, that results in an experience that lasts until the present.

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  • I am talking about the 'be' verb that is directly followed by an object. 'We have always been shameless'. not action verb
    – hwkal
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:21
  • "be" is an action verb in "I've been to Wales". It's synonymous with "go".
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:29
  • @StuartF yes that's why I asked for 'be' (stative verb) because 'have been to' means 'have visited' which is an action verb
    – hwkal
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:31
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To have been to or at/in a place is a special case, different from to have been [something].

Have you ever been to France? = Have you ever visited that country?

I've just been to the supermarket = I've just come back from doing my shopping.

Where have you been? = You disappeared for a while/you have obviously just returned from somewhere. Where was that?

I've been at my friend's house could be an answer. It doesn't mean that you are still there unless you add 'since 9.30', 'all morning' etc.

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  • Okay, if we do not use the duration part (since, for, etc), It would mean before now. so, "He has been my favorite actor" would mean that "He has been my favorite actor before now" (but right now he is not). Unless I use 'He has always been my favorite actor'.
    – hwkal
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:28
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    As I said, 'to have been to a place' is a special case and doesn't work in quite the same way. It's unlikely that anyone would say He has been my favourite actor meaning 'he isn't any more' - they would say He used to be.... But they might say, for example I have been seasick to mean 'I have had that experience in the past'.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 13 at 10:56
  • "You should have called me earlier. I have been at the market, now I am on my way home" does this sentence sound right to you
    – hwkal
    Commented Jun 13 at 11:35
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    Yes, perfectly fine.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jun 13 at 12:00

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