What Does “There Is Been” Mean?
The phrase “There is been” is not standard English. It appears to be a blend of two correct constructions:
- “There is…” — used with present tense for singular nouns (e.g., “There is a book”).
- “There has been…” — present perfect tense (e.g., “There has been an accident”).
Native speakers typically say “There has been” (or “There’s been”) when referring to something that started in the past and affects the present.
Why Do People Say “There Is Been”?
This construction often appears among English learners or in informal speech due to:
- Confusion between verb tenses.
- Overgeneralization of the contraction “There’s” (which can stand for both “There is” and “There has”).
- Influence from other languages with different grammatical structures.
Note: While “There is been” is grammatically incorrect in standard English, understanding such errors helps improve language teaching and communication.
Correct Usage Examples
- ✅ Correct: “There has been a lot of rain this week.”
- ❌ Incorrect: “There is been a lot of rain this week.”
- ✅ Correct: “There is a problem with the server.”
- ✅ Also correct: “There has been a problem with the server since yesterday.”
Interactive Quiz (Simple JS)
Which sentence is grammatically correct?