has been cancelled vs has cancelled

Both phrases are correct, but they are different in construction. 'Has been cancelled' is the passive voice construction, indicating that the action of cancelling was done to the subject. 'Has cancelled' is the active voice construction, indicating that the subject performed the action of cancelling. The choice between the two depends on whether you want to emphasize the action or the doer of the action.

Explained by Vince
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: May 30, 2024 • 5045 views

has been cancelled

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English, especially in passive voice constructions.

This phrase is used in passive voice constructions to indicate that the subject has had an action of being cancelled done to them. It emphasizes the action rather than the doer.

Examples:

The flight has been cancelled due to bad weather.
The event has been cancelled and will be rescheduled.
The order has been cancelled by the customer.
The show has been cancelled for tonight.
The subscription has been cancelled automatically.

Show examples from the web [+]

Our terraforming mission to Doraf I has been cancelled and the Enterprise recalled to Starbase 234.
So we could easily have held a topical and urgent debate this afternoon, but that too has been cancelled.
No destination address provided, forwarding of the message has been cancelled.
No identity found to use, forwarding of the message has been cancelled.
First, the training exercise scheduled for 2200 has been cancelled.
Eonni, the Centennial Performance has been cancelled.
Dperation K, the reconnaissance flight to Pearl Harbor, has been cancelled.
Your assignment to Portugal has been cancelled, and you've been reassigned to Angola.
No account found to use, forward of the message has been cancelled.
Against this backdrop, the Arab League Summit scheduled for this week in Tunis has been cancelled.
I understand that the 1999 Year Against Violence Against Women has been cancelled at the behest of the Member States.
Mr President, it appears to me that a communication from the Commission on some urgent and very important political issues has been cancelled.
Mr President, it is not even 4 p.m. and this week's topical and urgent debate, which would only have lasted an hour, has been cancelled.
the indication of the number of the international registration which has been cancelled;
I therefore believe that it is essential for the will of the citizens, expressed by voting in an election that has been cancelled six times in the past, to be respected.
- (Laughing) But the donor meeting has been cancelled, yes?
taxable persons for whom a VAT identification number has been cancelled or is no longer valid due to an absence or simulation of economic activity, and who have made intra-Community transactions;
For example, if I get to Tegel before finding out that my flight from Berlin to Mallorca has been cancelled, I not only get my ticket replaced, but I also get EUR 400 compensation.
A clear message to the Netherlands from this House would have been all the more helpful in view of the fact that, in the Netherlands, the debate has been cancelled.
After all legal remedies have been exhausted and where the fine or penalty has been cancelled or reduced any of the following measures shall be taken:

Alternatives:

has been called off
has been terminated
has been annulled
has been scrapped
has been abandoned

has cancelled

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English, especially in active voice constructions.

This phrase is used in active voice constructions to indicate that the subject has performed the action of cancelling. It emphasizes the doer of the action.