How to use "has been completed and approved"

What Does "has been completed and approved" Mean?

• The phrase "has been completed and approved" signifies that a task, project, process, or document has reached its final stage and has been officially authorized or sanctioned by the relevant authority. It implies both the fulfillment of requirements and the granting of permission for the next steps, if any.
• The meaning is compositional. The individual words contribute their standard meanings to create the overall meaning of the phrase. "Completed" means finished, and "approved" means officially accepted.
• The register is neutral to formal. It's commonly used in professional, academic, and official contexts.

How to Use It

• Grammatical pattern: auxiliary verb + past participle + conjunction + past participle (passive voice).
• Typical objects are nouns referring to projects, plans, documents, processes, tasks, reports, studies, etc. The phrase often modifies a noun.
• The components cannot be separated, as they form a cohesive unit describing the state of something.
• What sounds unnatural: Using it in the active voice (e.g., "someone has completed and approved"), using incorrect verb tenses (e.g., "was completed and approved" when the action is still relevant), or using it as a standalone phrase without attaching it to the noun it modifies.

Real-World Examples

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

"However, a few representatives of the community reported that once the process of developing the district health plan and budget has been completed and approved, the CHMT did not provide feedback on the approved priorities." — Global Health Action

"An EU feasibility study has been completed and if the project is approved it could see up to €225m being used to fix much of the network." — The Economist

"A clinical program investigating the efficacy and safety of the FDC of tiotropium + olodaterol has been completed, and the FDC has been approved in the US and Canada for the treatment of COPD." — Advances in Therapy

"Swindon Town's takeover by a local consortium has been completed after being approved by the Football League." — BBC

"To June 2012 over 1800 gene therapy clinical trials have been completed, are ongoing or have been approved worldwide." — Cell Death and Disease

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

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
has been finalized and ratified	More formal, often used for legal documents or agreements.
has been finished and endorsed	Implies strong support or recommendation, slightly less formal.
has been concluded and sanctioned	Suggests an official penalty or authorization, often in legal or regulatory contexts.
is finished and cleared	More informal, implies permission to proceed.
has been accomplished and validated	Focuses on achievement and confirmation of correctness, often in technical contexts.
has been executed and authorized	Formal; emphasizes the carrying out of a plan and its subsequent approval.
has been fulfilled and accepted	Highlights the satisfaction of requirements and formal agreement.

Common Mistakes

• Using the phrase as a standalone statement without connecting it to the specific noun it modifies. For example, saying "The project has been completed and approved" without specifying which project.
• Using an incorrect tense or voice, such as "The project was completed and approved" when the project is still relevant, or "They have completed and approved the project" (active voice) when the passive voice is more appropriate.
• Using a different conjunction than "and", which disrupts the established collocation.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Meaning	Grammatical Pattern	Register
has been completed and approved	Signifies that a task or project is finished and has received official authorization.	auxiliary verb + past participle + conjunction + past participle (passive voice)	Neutral to formal

FAQs

Can the components of "has been completed and approved" be separated?

No, the components of "has been completed and approved" should not be separated. They form a cohesive unit that describes the state of something being both finished and authorized. Inserting words between "completed" and "approved" would disrupt the meaning and sound unnatural.

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How does "has been completed and approved" differ from "has been finalized"?

"Has been finalized" only indicates that something is in its ultimate form, whereas "has been completed and approved" implies both finalization and official authorization. The latter suggests a formal process of review and acceptance by a relevant authority, which "has been finalized" does not.

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What's a common mistake when using "has been completed and approved", and how can I correct it?

A common mistake is using "has been completed and approved" as a standalone phrase without attaching it to the noun it modifies. To correct this, always ensure the phrase directly relates to the noun it describes; for instance, instead of just saying "has been completed and approved," say "the report has been completed and approved."