jimalton
  Junior Editor

In your sentence, "have
been", of course, is the present perfect which when used as a verb
indicates some activity or state that has recently completed. In your
sentence the verb is the past passive "was meant"; and "to have been" is
in the form of a verb but is not performing as a verb but as a
preposition conveying more meaning than the alternative preposition
"as" such as that the surprise was not surprising, whereas "as" would
not convey that meaning. more »