Has Always Been - Learn This English Phrase

If you struggle to understand the meaning of ‘has always been’ and how to use it like a native English speaker, then you’re in the right place.  

Present perfect sentence constructs like ‘has always been’ can be confusing to English language learners.  In this blog, we’ll explain the meaning of this phrase, common errors non-native English speakers make and give you plenty of examples to help improve your English skills. 

Meaning of The Phrase Has Always Been 

“Has/have always been” is a present perfect sentence.  We use the present perfect tense to talk about things that started in the past and are still true now.  We can add ‘always’ to talk about things that never change and are always true from the past until now.

“Has (or have) always been” is a sentence that we can use to talk about a situation or noun that is unchanging over a long period of time.  The state we are referring to has consistently been this way or it has been this way for a long time and it is difficult to imagine a time it wasn’t this way.

Is It Always Has Been or Has Always Been?

‘Always’ is an adverb of frequency.  Adverbs of frequency like ‘always,’ ‘sometimes,’ ‘seldom,’ and ‘usually,’ come before the verb they are modifying.  In the sentence “it has been,” ‘always’ needs to come after the auxiliary verb ‘has’ and before the main verb ‘been.’

This is the rule for adverbs of frequency in most cases.  In every sentence structure, ‘always’ comes before the main verb of the sentence.

The only exception to this rule is when the main and only verb of a sentence is ‘be’

For example:

“He is always kind.”

In every other sentence, the adverbs of frequency come before the main verb:

For example:

“She always plays football on Saturdays.”

“He is always working hard while other children play.”

“It has always been this way.”

What is English Everyday

English-Everyday is an English course with live lessons for English learners who want to improve their English with native speakers, professional teachers, and students from around the world. 

You have live lessons where you can join every day. You can review all record lessons. There is a calendar of scheduled lessons so you can see when lessons are and at what time you can join.

In English Everyday program, you have support and also you have student chat where you can speak with other students from all around the world. You can look at our feedback page so that you can know from which countries our students are. Before you join our program, we strongly recommend you sign up for our free seminar with Kris Amerikos, where you can learn:

• What goals you need to have to get better results 
• How to become fluent in English very quickly
• What you need to do to have perfect pronunciation
• The 3 biggest mistakes you need to avoid
• Which free resources will help you learn English
• The best resource to use to improve your speaking

Examples of Have Always Been

‘Have’ and ‘has’ are the  only two possible auxiliary verbs that we can use in present perfect sentences.

We use ‘have’ with the subjects ‘I, you, we, and they.’

Subject + have + (always) + been

“I have always been a brunette.”

“They have always been stubborn.”

“Sarah and I have always been friends.”

“You have always been good at Maths.”

“Mark and Harry have always been the best in the class.”

“I have always been close to my mom.”

“They have always been nice to me.”

“We have always been good surfers.”

“You have always been trustworthy.”

Negative:

Subject + haven’t + (always) + been

“We haven’t always been this happy.”

“They haven’t always been rich.”

“You haven’t always been this funny!”

“Sarah and Jessican haven’t always been enemies.”

It Has Always Been

We use ‘has’ with the subjects ‘he, she, and it.’

Subject + has + (always) + been

“It has always been hot in summer.”

“She has always been a dancer.”

“He has always been friendly.”

“It has always been there.”

“He has always been there for her.”

“She has always been kind to us.”

Negative:

Subject + hasn’t + (always) + been

“He hasn’t always been friends with them.”

“She hasn’t always been poor.”

“It hasn’t always been this cold in winter.”

“She hasn’t always liked me.”