Here's a breakdown:
"Have been" is used for the present perfect tense. This tense is used to describe actions or states that:
* Started in the past and continue up to the present: "I have been living here for five years." (I still live here)
* Happened at an unspecified time in the past: "I have been to Paris." (It doesn't matter when I went)
* Have a result or impact on the present: "I have been working on this project all day, and I'm exhausted."
"Were" is used for the past simple tense. This tense is used to describe actions or states that:
* Happened at a specific time in the past: "We were at the cinema last night."
* Occurred over a period of time in the past: "They were on holiday for two weeks."
Here's an example:
* Correct: "I have been to the beach many times." (Present perfect, unspecified time in the past)
* Correct: "We were at the beach yesterday." (Past simple, specific time in the past)
In short, use "have been" when you need to express a continuing action or state, or when the time of the action is not important. Use "were" when you need to express a specific action that happened in the past.
It's always best to consider the context of your sentence to determine which tense is appropriate.