When to use "I was ... " and when "I had been ... "?

Question

I guess it's about simple past vs. past perfect usage but some examples are welcomed, I'm really not sure if I understand it correctly.

EDIT: Right, probably I should be more specific. The thing is currently I'm reading one (american) book where, of course, a narration style dominates. And yet, the main protagonist often changes a tense from "I was" to "I had been" and I simply can't figure out the rule.

tutorials on past vs past perfect are likely to be of help here in providing examples. — aedia λ, Jun 20 '11 at 21:27
I don't think this question is on topic here. Why don't you read up on the tenses a bit and ask any specific questions you have here? For example, "rule x says y, and yet example z seems to contradict this; how come?". — Cerberus - Reinstate Monica, Jun 20 '11 at 21:29
Related: When to use “has lived” vs. “lived” vs. “had lived”. See also our general reference: How do the tenses in English correspond temporally to one another? — RegDwigнt, Jun 20 '11 at 21:31
OK, I've been paying more attention while reading the book and realized there's really nothing strange going on. Flagged to remove as it's really not a good question. My apologies. — Miro Kropacek, Jun 24 '11 at 18:58
You can visit the English and Literary Department of the University of Nigeria via http://unn.edu.ng/department/english-and-literary-studies for answers to this question. — , Apr 02 '13 at 11:11

score 3 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 20 '11 at 21:33

To me, "had been" implies a change of state:

The phone rang. I was asleep. (No implication of state change. Further sentences would clarify if the speaker woke up, or never heard it.)
The phone rang. I had been asleep. (But I after it rang, I wasn't asleep any more.)

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 20 '11 at 21:34

The past perfect, or pluperfect, is used to introduce a past event that took place before another past event:

I had worked as a bricklayer for five years before I was promoted.

To indicate that an event took place in the past without relating it to another event, you would use the simple past tense.

I worked as a bricklayer for five years.

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 21 '11 at 04:34

+1 to Joe McMahon. Allow me to don my technical writing hat. Using "weak" grammar is one of my pet peeves!

Don't use past and future tense out of context, when making a statement. Using direct words makes a strong, clear statement. The following examples have no punctuation, to emphasize grammar. The first of the paired sentences is weak and milk-toast -- the second is the Chuck Norris version.

I just wanted to ask if you could correct your spelling.

I want you to correct your spelling.

This sentence sounds awkward:

I had been walking when I was asked for spare change.

I was walking when asked for spare change.

When to use "I was ... " and when "I had been ... "?

3 Answers3