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She was being harassed by the police vs She had been harassed by the police

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'She was being harassed by the police' is used to describe an ongoing action in the past, while 'She had been harassed by the police' is used to indicate that the harassment occurred before a specific point in the past.

Last updated: March 30, 2024 • 885 views

She was being harassed by the police

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to describe an ongoing action of harassment by the police in the past.

Examples:

  • She was being harassed by the police while walking home.
  • During the investigation, she was being harassed by the police.
  • Our family's already being harassed by the police, we don't need it from the girl next door, too.
  • And, of course, I'm dedicating it also to my grandmother, whom I think really played quite a lot of important roles, especially for me when I was an activist, and being harassed by the police.
  • Last year in denver, a woman was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend.
  • It's true, M-Maria was being harassed by someone who worked here.
  • She told me she was being harassed at the last place.
  • Perhaps the police who were investigating Prentice's claim that his sister was being harassed didn't encounter a dead end so much as a "do not enter."
  • Two years ago, she was being harassed at work.
  • Didn't you say he was being harassed by class mates?
  • Nothing more sympathetic than representing a poor woman who's being harassed by an insurance company.
  • I don't like being harassed by federal agents.
  • I don't like being harassed by federal agents.
  • Arlene McCarthy (rapporteur) complained about being harassed by lobbyists.
  • One of Griffin's old opponents just confirmed being harassed by Bogle and Pitt during their campaign.
  • He's sick of being harassed by the cops.
  • Members of the media are constantly being harassed by the authorities in the Russian Federation.
  • I'm being harassed by the cops again.
  • I do some pretty high profile work, so, I'm always being harassed by producers for new material.
  • One image that has haunted me from my early business days is of a grandmother, 70 plus years, being harassed by the bureaucrats in the town planning office.
  • She's being harassed by a stalker, so I suspected you as one.
  • This is just adding one more person to the list of those who are being harassed by the Belarusian Government.

Alternatives:

  • She was harassed by the police.
  • She was continuously harassed by the police.

She had been harassed by the police

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to indicate that the harassment by the police occurred before a specific point in the past.

Examples:

  • By the time she reported the incident, she had been harassed by the police for weeks.
  • She had been harassed by the police before seeking legal help.
  • Mr. Duffy is not the only family member who's been harassed by the police, Your Honor.
  • Not only activists but also their relatives have been harassed by the police, lost their jobs or have been put under house arrest.
  • They have been harassed by the police, their offices and homes have been raided, equipment has been confiscated and the pictures they have taken at protests have been used against protesters in evidence.
  • Our family's already being harassed by the police, we don't need it from the girl next door, too.
  • And I, who am his wife, I am often harassed by the police.
  • And, of course, I'm dedicating it also to my grandmother, whom I think really played quite a lot of important roles, especially for me when I was an activist, and being harassed by the police.
  • Agnes Schierhuber, who voiced her objection to the fact that since the previous day she had been harassed by a television crew that she believed to be accompanying
  • For the last three years she has been subjected to physical aggression and been continually harassed by the Tunisian police, her home is under surveillance and her telephone is monitored or (as at present) cut off.
  • He has been harassed by the authorities, he has been intimidated, and the police have done nothing to find those responsible.
  • Even as parliamentarians, we were constantly spied upon and harassed in Istanbul. Claudia Roth was questioned by the police for over an hour after she had held a press conference.
  • She had five visits from the police and all she had stolen was a cigarette case.
  • If only she hadn't turned the police away.
  • This family's been harassed enough.
  • The police told me, I needed time to understand what she had done.
  • At the trial, a coworker testified that Ellis threatened to get even with Claire Gibson because she had started the whole thing by calling the police.
  • She had to go to the police station because they thought she might be a material witness 'cause of when the house by them got robbed.
  • She had run-ins with the police before.
  • And out of that resentment, you implicated her to the police in a criminal conspiracy she had absolutely nothing to do with.
  • Jane was wearing support hose, and the police checked all the restaurants in Galesburg, but she had a Chicago accent.
  • I've been harassed and yelled at and smeared and tortured.

Alternatives:

  • She had faced harassment from the police.
  • She had experienced police harassment.

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