Which one is correct and why?
"My friend hasn't been in church in two weeks."
or
"My friend hadn't been in church in two weeks."
These sentences make it difficult to know the difference between has, have and had.
past-perfectpresent-perfect
Which one is correct and why?
"My friend hasn't been in church in two weeks."
or
"My friend hadn't been in church in two weeks."
These sentences make it difficult to know the difference between has, have and had.
Best Answer
Both are correct, but they have different meanings.
Hasn't been - the Present Perfect
This means that your friend hasn't been in church in the last two weeks. The last time your friend was in church was two weeks ago, and they haven't been to church since then (to the best of your knowledge).
Hadn't been - the Past Perfect
You are describing the past. There are various possible ways this could fit into a narrative, and the period described might be in the distant past or in the very recent or immediate past. Compare these examples:
Furthermore, although the two-week period is in the past, the construction doesn't by itself tell us whether the friend subsequently returns to church (for example, sentence (a) above leaves open the possibility that she never returns at all) or whether the period of her absence has come to an end (as in (b)).