had been removed vs were removed

Both phrases are correct, but they're used in different contexts. "Had been removed" is used when referring to an action that occurred before a specific point in the past. On the other hand, "were removed" is used to describe an action that took place in the past without specifying a particular time.

Explained by Miss E.
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: October 24, 2024 • 12794 views

had been removed

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English when referring to an action that occurred before a specific point in the past.

Use "had been removed" when you want to indicate that something was taken out or eliminated before a particular time in the past.

Examples:

The old furniture had been removed from the room before the new tenants moved in.
By the time we arrived, the barriers had been removed from the road.
The graffiti had been removed from the walls by the time the event started.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 13, 2024

Apr 2, 2018 ... Selling privileges had been removed, please help.. Hello team,. it's very sad that for a few complains about unauthentic items (which is not ...
Apr 25, 2024 ... Options. Report. Weegeepie's enhanced mario ragdolls pack had been removed. i was going to archive it but i guess its too late. Upvote 3
May 7, 2021 ... Build includes an old file that had been removed from the souce code #291. Closed. aendie opened this issue on May 7, 2021 · 5 comments. Closed ...
Nov 22, 2019 ... I have a question, i am been wondering why is that page had been removed from index on google? I have requested again for indexing that page ...
Nov 28, 2023 ... I was informed that my name had been removed from an upcoming 100-mile race lottery because my qualifying race was two months expired.
Apr 5, 2023 ... It was still there, both online and locally. I checked events and saw that access had been removed. Sure enough the folder had lost its ...
Nov 12, 2022 ... As a result, I received a notification from Google on August 25, 2022 that the review from “MM” had been removed for violating your policies ( ...
Apr 17, 2024 ... Massad had been removed from a leadership role at the university, where he headed an academic review panel. But Dr. Massad said in an email ...
Oct 21, 2024 ... I received a message that my cards had been removed from Google Wallet. Reason given. Device not been connected to internet. In fact it has ...
The old thermostat had been removed and the colors are hard to see. where are the other ends, of each of these wires, connected? Amazon Smart Thermostat.

Alternatives:

had removed
had taken out
had eliminated
had cleared
had disposed of

were removed

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English when describing an action that took place in the past without specifying a particular time.

Use "were removed" when you want to state that something was taken out or eliminated in the past without indicating a specific time frame.