"It has been raining" vs "It had been raining"

Question

"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

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

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.

Alternatives:

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

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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.

"It has been raining" vs "It had been raining"

It has been raining

It had been raining

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