It has been raining vs It had been raining

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'It has been raining' is used to talk about a recent action that started in the past and is still continuing in the present. 'It had been raining' is used to talk about a past action that was completed before another past action or time in the past.

Last updated: March 20, 2024 • 4398 views

It has been raining

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a recent action that started in the past and is still continuing in the present.

Use 'it has been raining' to talk about a situation where rain started in the past and is still ongoing at the present moment.

Examples:

It has been raining for hours.
I can't go out because it has been raining all day.
The roads are flooded because it has been raining heavily.
It has been raining since yesterday.
The grass is wet because it has been raining.

Alternatives:

It is raining
It continues to rain
It has rained
It has been rainy
It has been wet

It had been raining

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to describe a past action that was completed before another past action or time in the past.

Use 'it had been raining' to talk about a situation where rain had started in the past and had stopped before another past action or time.

Examples:

It had been raining before the sun came out.
The ground was wet because it had been raining all night.
I missed the bus because it had been raining heavily.
The streets were empty because it had been raining.
The picnic was canceled because it had been raining.

Show examples from the web [+]

Yesterday morning I got up and looked out of the window. The sun was shining but the ground was very wet. It had been raining. It was not raining when I looked ...
Nov 20, 2010 ... In this case it's possible to say "rained", but only if there is no reference to a particular day when you realized that it had been raining for three ...
It had been raining a long time. 10. First: Raw meat was on the table for a week. Second: The house stunk. Answer: The house stunk because raw meat had ...
"It had been raining for more than a week" - by Joanne Uy. August 24, 2013 at 8: 08pm. So much rain it made everyday seemed so restless and gloomy.

Alternatives:

It was raining
It used to rain
It had rained
It had been rainy
It had been wet

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It has been raining vs It had been raining