“Has Been Changed” vs. “Has Changed” – Difference Explained

Verb forms play a large part in our understanding of their meaning. You can look at the two very similar phrases “has been changed” and “has changed” and think they are identical. However, their verb forms split them apart, and this article will explain them.

What Is The Difference Between “Has Been Changed” And “Has Changed”?

“Has been changed” works when we want to talk about something that someone else has “changed.” “Been” works here to emphasize that we were not the person doing the “changing.” “Has changed” simply means something has “changed,” and we might have done it.

“Has been changed” is the more specific phrase of the two. We typically use it when we want to stress that we are not responsible. Sometimes, this means we want to find out who is responsible.

• My password has been changed, but I didn’t do it.

“Has changed” is more general. We use it whenever something has simply “changed” at some point in the past. It could have been from us or from someone else, but we’re typically not interested in who did it.

• This outcome has changed my mind.

What Does “Has Been Changed” Mean?

You can use “has been changed” whenever someone else might be responsible. As a side note, we could also use the auxiliary verb “have” in the same manner.

“Has been changed” means that someone or something has deliberately “changed” something. However, we might not know exactly who or what did the changing, and we might be interested in finding out.

As we said, the auxiliary verb will change based on the pronoun we use in our sentences. In most cases, we will use the pronoun “it” (or something similar) to refer to the third-person singular. In these cases, “has” is correct.

• The information has been changed since I last read it.

However, when we use a plural pronoun or object, we change the verb form to “have:”

• Both of these have been changed since I was here last.

What Does “Has Changed” Mean?

“Has changed” works in a less specific way. We typically don’t want to know about who or what did the “changing,” we are simply stating that something has “changed.”

“Has changed” works whenever something has “changed” state, and we know about it. While the “changing” occurred at some point in the past, we are not all that worried about who or what did the “changing.”

The same rules apply here as they do above in regard to using “has” or “have.” We typically use “has” in the singular form, while “have” is better in the plural form.

• The address has changed.

The singular word “the address” is followed with the auxiliary form “has.”

• These people have changed their minds about whatever is happening here.

“These people” is plural, so we now use “have” instead to show that we are working with a group.

Examples Of How To Use “Has Been Changed” In A Sentence

Some further examples will help you understand the key differences here. Once you’ve figured these out, you’ll have no trouble with the phrases.

1. It has been changed again, and I want to find out who did it.
2. This password has been changed, but I’m sure it should have stayed the same.
3. The code has been changed by someone outside of this building.
4. The rules have been changed, but there’s nothing we can do about that.
5. The email has been changed since it was sent out because that’s not what I wrote.
6. You have been changed by the things you have seen, and I want to know why.
7. The passwords have been changed by someone in head office.

“Have been changed” emphasizes that someone else is responsible for the “changing” of something. We may or may not know who or what did it, but we use “been” to show it was not us.

Examples Of How To Use “Has Changed” In A Sentence

“Has changed” is the more simple form. We use it mainly to show that something “changed” in the past.

1. You have changed a lot since I last saw you.
2. The password has changed because I didn’t want to be hacked.
3. You have changed your email address again!
4. I have changed addresses to stop the spam mail from being sent to my door.
5. What has changed in the thought process that makes you think this is okay?
6. It has changed the way I see the world.
7. The book has changed authors one too many times, and now it’s unrecognizable!

“Has changed” works to simply show that someone or something has “changed” a thing in the past. We say this to show that it has happened, though we aren’t too worried about whatever it was.

What Is The Difference Between “Has Changed” Or “Had Changed”?

“Has changed” is known as the present perfect tense. We use it to show that something has “changed” in the past and has finished in the present. “Had changed” is the past perfect tense, which we use to show the order that things took place in the past.

Here’s how they look:

• This has changed my view of the world.
• You had changed your opinion long before I got there.

The same rules also apply with “has been changed” and “had been changed.” Typically, “has been changed” refers to something “changing” in the past, while “had been changed” refers to something that was changed but is no longer changed at present.

• My password has been changed without my knowledge.
• This account has been changed to someone else’s, but I got it back.

When Should I Use “Was Changed”?

“Was changed” is the past continuous tense of something “changing.” We use it to indicate that something has taken place in the past, though there isn’t much emphasis on when, why, or where that “change” happened.

“Was changed” is a different tense entirely to both “has changed” and “has been changed.”

• This was changed a long time ago.
• My password was changed one too many times.

“Has Been Changed” And “Has Changed” – Synonyms

Finally, let’s go over some alternatives and synonyms that might be useful to us.

• Swapped
• Exchanged
• Altered
• Moved
• Redone