How to use "has been completed"

What Does "has been completed" Mean?

• The phrase "has been completed" means that a task, project, process, or action has reached its conclusion; it is finished and no further work is required.
• The meaning is compositional. Each word contributes its individual meaning to the overall sense of the phrase. "Has been" indicates the present perfect tense in the passive voice, and "completed" signifies the state of being finished.
• Register: Neutral to formal.

How to Use It

• Grammatical pattern: Auxiliary verb + past participle (passive voice). The pattern is "[Subject] has been completed".
• Typical objects: tasks, projects, reports, programs, upgrades, designs, sales, investigations, rites of passage, applications, development, manufacturing, refurbishment, design.
• The components cannot be separated, as "has been completed" is a fixed phrase in the present perfect passive voice.
• What sounds unnatural: Using the active voice when the subject is the recipient, not the agent of the action; using incorrect tenses (e.g., "has completed"); using incorrect prepositions (as the phrase itself contains no prepositions).

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from has been completed on Ludwig.guru.

"Nothing has been completed." — The New York Times - Sports

"That programme of upgrading has been completed." — Independent

"Part of that sale has been completed." — The New York Times

"The project has been completed." — Yale University

"The refurbishment of the CODAC network architecture has been completed." — Fusion Engineering and Design

Examples sourced from https://ludwig.guru/s/has+been+completed

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
is finished	More informal, can be used in spoken or written context.
is done	Very informal, best for simple tasks.
has concluded	More formal and often used for events or processes.
is finalized	Indicates that something is in its ultimate, approved form.
has ended	Suitable for events, periods of time, or relationships.
is accomplished	Suggests a sense of achievement or skill in completing the task.

Common Mistakes

• Using the active voice incorrectly: Saying "The team has completed the project" instead of "The project has been completed" when focusing on the project itself.
• Incorrect tense usage: Using "has completed" instead of "has been completed" in passive constructions.
• Omitting "been": Saying "The task has completed" is grammatically incorrect. It must be "has been completed".

A common mistake is using the active voice instead of the passive when the subject is not the agent performing the action, for example, saying "They have completed" when it should be "It has been completed" if 'it' is the subject.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Meaning	Grammatical Pattern	Register
has been completed	Finished, brought to an end	[Subject] + has been completed	Neutral to formal

FAQs

Can the words in "has been completed" be separated?

No, the phrase "has been completed" cannot be separated. It is a fixed phrase representing the present perfect passive voice. Any separation would make the sentence grammatically incorrect.

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How does "has been completed" differ from "is finished"?

While both phrases indicate that something is done, "has been completed" is generally more formal and suggests a process or task that has been brought to a conclusion. "Is finished" is more informal and can refer to a wider range of things simply being done.

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What's the correct way to use "has been completed" if I see someone write "The company has completed the project"?

If the intention is to emphasize the project's completion rather than the company's action, the correct sentence is "The project has been completed." This uses the passive voice to focus on the project as the subject, and its state of completion.