Has Started vs. Has Been Started – Which is Correct?

Both “has started” and “has been started” are correct, but they use different voices. “Has started” means a person, process, or event began. “Has been started” is passive and means someone or something initiated it. Choose the first for the subject’s action; choose the second when emphasizing the action received.

Has Started or Has Been Started – Which Is Correct?

Both phrases are grammatically correct, but they communicate different meanings. “Has started” uses the present perfect active voice. It indicates that someone or something began an action or that an event began.

“Has been started” uses the present perfect passive voice. It indicates that someone or something initiated another action, process, or object, while the person responsible may be unknown, unimportant, or intentionally omitted.

Compare these sentences:

• The meeting has started. The meeting began.
• The meeting has been started by the manager. The manager initiated the meeting.

The Best Trick to Remember the Difference

Use the “Who did the action?” test. If the subject performed the action or began naturally, use “has started.” If the subject received the action and someone else initiated it, use “has been started.”

You can also remember that “been” often signals the passive voice. If you could add “by someone” after the phrase, “has been started” may be appropriate: “The project has been started by the research team.”

How to Use Has Started

Use “has started” with a singular subject when an action, event, condition, or process began in the past and remains relevant now. It is the active form of the present perfect tense. The subject may be a person, organization, machine, event, or process.

This phrase is common in everyday, academic, business, and formal writing. It can describe something that began recently, something whose effects continue, or an event that is now underway.

Example 1: The new semester has started.

Example 2: The company has started testing its updated software.

Example 3: She has started working on her final report.

What Are the Different Forms of Start?

Start is a regular verb in modern English. Its principal forms are start, started, and started. The present perfect form is created with has or have plus started.

• Present: He starts the engine.
• Past: He started the engine.
• Present perfect: He has started the engine.
• Past perfect: He had started the engine.
• Progressive: He is starting the engine.
• Infinitive: He wants to start the engine.

Use “has started” with singular third-person subjects such as he, she, it, or a singular noun. Use “have started” with I, you, we, they, and plural nouns.

Etymology of the Word Start

The verb start comes from Middle English and is related to older Germanic words meaning to leap, spring, or move suddenly. Over time, its meaning expanded from sudden movement to beginning an activity, journey, process, or event.

How to Use Has Been Started

Use “has been started” when the subject is the receiver of an action. This is the present perfect passive form of start. It is formed with has + been + started.

The passive construction is useful when the initiator is unknown, obvious from context, less important than the result, or deliberately left unmentioned. It often appears in technical, administrative, scientific, and formal writing.

Example 1: The investigation has been started by local authorities.

Example 2: A backup process has been started automatically.

Example 3: The construction project has been started ahead of schedule.

Do not use “has been started” merely because an event began. For example, “The concert has been started” sounds unnatural if you simply mean that the concert began. Say “The concert has started.” Use the passive form when someone actively initiated the concert: “The conductor has started the concert” or “The concert has been started by the conductor.”

What Are the Different Forms of Has Been Started?

The passive forms of start combine the verb be with the past participle started. The auxiliary changes according to the subject and tense.

• Present perfect passive: The program has been started.
• Plural present perfect passive: The programs have been started.
• Past perfect passive: The program had been started.
• Future perfect passive: The program will have been started.
• Simple past passive: The program was started.

Etymology of the Phrase Has Been Started

The phrase combines three grammatical elements: has, the present-tense form of have; been, the past participle of be; and started, the past participle of start. English developed this combination through its broader system of perfect and passive constructions.

Related Concepts

Understanding voice, tense, and transitivity makes the difference between these two phrases much easier to recognize.

• Active voice: In an active sentence, the subject performs the action. In “The technician has started the machine,” the technician is the actor.
• Passive voice: In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action. In “The machine has been started,” the machine is the receiver.
• Present perfect tense: This tense connects a past action with the present. It is formed with has or have plus a past participle.
• Transitive and intransitive verbs: “Start” can be transitive when it takes an object, as in “She has started the project,” and intransitive when no object is needed, as in “The project has started.”

Examples from Media and Literature

Writers and reporters choose between these forms according to whether they want to emphasize the beginning itself or the person or system that caused it.

• News reporting: “The election campaign has started” focuses on the campaign now being underway.
• Business reporting: “The company has started hiring workers” emphasizes the company’s action.
• Science writing: “The chemical reaction has started” describes a process that began.
• Film and television dialogue: “The movie has started” naturally tells viewers that the screening is already in progress.
• Historical or literary narration: “The restoration of the old theater has been started by a local foundation” emphasizes the foundation’s role in initiating the work.

Practice Exercises

Choose the correct phrase, “has started” or “has been started,” to complete each sentence.

1. The conference ______, so please take your seat.
2. The new training program ______ by the human resources department.
3. The child ______ learning to play the piano.
4. The emergency generator ______ automatically.
5. The renovation project ______ by the contractor.

Answer Key

1. has started — The conference itself began.
2. has been started — The human resources department initiated the program.
3. has started — The child began the activity.
4. has started — The generator began operating; no agent is emphasized.
5. has been started — The contractor initiated the project.

Has Started Synonyms

Has Been Started Synonyms

Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Is “has started” grammatically correct?
Yes. “Has started” is the present perfect active form of the verb start. It means that a person, event, process, or activity began.

Question 2: Is “has been started” grammatically correct?
Yes. “Has been started” is the present perfect passive form. It means that someone or something has initiated the subject, although the initiator may not be named.

Question 3: Should I say “the meeting has started” or “the meeting has been started”?
Usually, say “The meeting has started” when you mean that the meeting began. Use “The meeting has been started” only when emphasizing that a particular person or system initiated it.

Conclusion

“Has started” and “has been started” are both correct. Use “has started” for an active subject or an event that began, and use “has been started” when the subject received the initiating action. Pro Tip: Choosing the precise voice in professional writing improves clarity and helps protect your credibility.