"had" and "had been" : They come into picture only when we are talking of two past actions and we want to show their chronology.


Case 1: Use "had" when both the action are complete at the time of reference and one action completed before the other.

Example: I had studied hard, so I did well in exam.

Studying and Doing Well in Exam both occurred in past and they are complete, but I did complete my study 1st, then I did well in exam. To show this sequence, I should use "past perfect" then "Simple past".

Case 2: Use "had been" when two actions are in past and one of the actions was continuing till the other occurred.

Example: I had been studying, when the door bell rang.

Here, I was still studying when the door bell rang. So my action was in past and continuous. The older action is "studying", so I should use "had been" to show the sequence.

If you Find it difficult to distinguish between HAD & HAD BEEN, you need to refer to a good grammar book and read about Simple past , and past perfect tense/Simple perfect etc (basically go over tenses in general)..

http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb ... ses-be.htm
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