what you had been doing vs what you had been

The phrase 'what you had been doing' is correct, while 'what you had been' is incomplete and incorrect. The first phrase is a complete sentence that asks about a specific action in the past, while the second one lacks a verb and does not convey a complete thought.

Last updated: March 15, 2024 • 1163 views

what you had been doing

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to inquire about a specific action that was ongoing in the past.

This phrase is used to ask someone about a continuous action that was happening in the past. It is typically followed by a question mark to indicate an interrogative sentence.

Examples:

Can you tell me what you had been doing before I arrived?
I wonder what you had been doing all day.
Do you remember what you had been doing when the power went out?
She asked him what he had been doing in the garden.
I'm curious about what you had been doing in the kitchen.

Show examples from the web [+]

Feb 3, 2015 ... AARP The Magazine is the world's largest circulation magazine and the definitive lifestyle publication for AARP's nearly 40 million members ...
Apr 17, 2015 ... 15d ago · Embed; Block user or report. he couldn't stop thinking about what you had been doing last night. 10 Likes 2 Revines 7 Comments. 0.
Jan 5, 2015 ... Do you think you will realize someday; what you had been doing is a heartless act? 10. Don't you think life is too short to play games with love ...
Apr 28, 2015 ... ... so that by sophomore year, you kind of knew what you were doing (or at least you were doing what you had been doing before, but better).

what you had been

This phrase is incorrect as it is incomplete and lacks a verb to form a complete sentence.

This phrase cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. It needs a verb to convey a clear meaning or context.

Show examples from the web [+]

... it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise ."'
Aug 13, 2013 ... ... to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."
... it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise ."'.
... it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise .”

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023
"Feel welcome, immediate response, high quality feedback"
martin.roy June 2023
"This is the best app that I have ever seen"
Burulai May 2023

what you had been doing vs what you had been