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Question

What's the difference between these two pair of sentences?

Jane Smith fue etiquetada en un álbum. Hace 32 minutos

John Smith ha sido etiquetado en un álbum. Hace una hora aproximadamente.

It seems to me that the second one means it completed just now, but it happened an hour ago. And the first one says it was finished in the past.

Yes, in Spain the 'ha sido' construction means that it just happened. It's odd that the 'ha sido' one happened half an hour before the 'fue' one, though. - MacFadden, Jun 24, 2010

Mistook ha etiquetado with esta etiquetando. Otherwise it is an error then? - salsero69, Jun 24, 2010

Answer 1

fue: was (preterite of Ser)

ha sido: has been (present perfect of Ser)

- used for an action that occurred in the past and may continue to the present.

Mistook ha etiquetado with esta etiquetando - salsero69, Jun 24, 2010

Answer 2

John Smith was labeled/tagged....

John Smith has been labeled.... Why would this seem to be ongoing to you?

Look at this article on the Present Perfect tense (passive voice in this case) and notice the time lines. The present perfect is used in either the past or recent past time. It is not ongoing in the present.

Ya, mistook ha etiquetado with esta etiquetando. - salsero69, Jun 24, 2010