Grammar rules for the word being

The word being is used in several different grammatical structures.

Being + adjective

The structure being + adjective is used to talk about actions and behavior.

Why are you being so silly?
You are being cruel when you hurt others with your words or actions.

Note that when the adjective refers to feelings, the continuous form is not possible.

I was upset when I heard that I had failed the test. (NOT I was being upset when I … Here we are talking about the speaker’s feelings and hence a continuous form is not possible.)
I am delighted to hear that you have won the first prize. (NOT I am being delighted …)

Being + past participle                 

Being can be followed by a past participle. This structure is used in the passive forms of present and past continuous tenses.

Compare:

Mother is cooking dinner. (Active)

Dinner is being cooked by mother. (Passive)

They are repairing the roof.

The roof is being repaired.

I am quite sure that somebody is following me. (Active)

I am quite sure that I am being followed. (Passive)

Being in participle clauses

Instead of a because /as / since clause, we sometimes use an adverbial participle clause with being. This structure is mainly used in a formal or literary style.

Compare:

Being late, he couldn’t watch the show. (= Because he is late, he couldn’t watch the show.)

Being a friend of the Minister, I am often invited to official parties. (= As I am a friend of the Minister, I am often invited to official parties.)

Being quite slim, I managed to squeeze through the small opening in the wall. (= Since I was quite slim, I managed to squeeze through the small opening in the wall.)

The word «being» is serving as what’s called a present participle in these examples. It is helping to create a form of the verb called the present continuous tense.

You are probably familiar with a variety of tenses, but just in case you don’t remember their names, here are some refresher examples, for the verb «feed». I chose an ordinary transitive verb (one which takes an object, i.e. one in which someone does the verb to something) to show the effect of different tenses more clearly:

Tense Example

---

Past

(Simple) Perfect    I fed the baby
Pluperfect          I had fed the baby
Imperfect           I was _feeding_ the baby

Present

(Simple) Present    I feed the baby
Present Continuous  I am _feeding_ the baby

Future

Future              I will feed the baby
Future Perfect      I will have fed the baby

Note that 2 of these, the Imperfect and the Present Continuous, use the present participle form of the verb itself, «feeding».

Now, suppose that you are the baby. Instead of the active form of the verb, «to feed», we can switch to the passive form, «to be fed». Then, the sentences from earlier in these two tenses change to:

Imperfect           I was _being_ fed
Present Continuous  I am _being_ fed

So, the word «being» shows up most commonly in these two tenses, in the passive form of the verb.

Note: The verb «to be» is an additional, unique case where the word «being» can appear to form these same tenses, but the verb is intransitive. For example:

Imperfect           I was _being_ careful
Present Continuous  I am _being_ careful

Modern American English relies heavily on present continuous tense verb forms instead of the more mundane present tense. In fact, the simple present tense is only regularly used in one way — to reflect an ongoing, regular activity. A few examples:

«How do you get to work?» «I ride the bus.»
«What kind of work do you do?» «I feed animals at the zoo.»

The normal and more common form of the present tense in AmE is the present continuous:

«I’m watching my weight».
«He’s being asked to sign the papers.»
«She’s getting really upset.»

BritE does the same thing, but the simple present shows up a bit more, just as a variation in usage.

Note: There is one rather uncommon usage of the word «being». It sometimes appears to start an adjectival phrase, which is a phrase that describes something. For example:

«The ship’s captain, being taller than the rest of the crew, was able to reach the swinging cask.»

There is another occasional, but incorrect, usage where the word «being» is used as part of a kind of additional dangling phrase that’s trying to do the job of a conjunction:

«I ate the rest of the cake, the reason being that I was depressed.»

These are really two separate ideas, and could be correctly framed by inserting the conjunction «because» and dropping the awkward phrase «the reason being that»:

«I ate the rest of the cake because I was depressed.»

Thank you for such an excellent work. Would it be possible to explain what if remove “being” from the example sentence?

Kashif

while thanking you Alex please let me know the difference meaning of..1)He is generous AND 2)He is being generous.

RANJITH—SRILANKA

Please Alex explain us the difference between “He is generous” and “He is being generous”

ela1



it’s being more nice

kotoz

bahasa is a language for indonesian-native. malaysian uses melayu/malay. btw, what’s your point dude. i don’t understand what did u meant?

Hany



what did you meant..it’s a wrong sentence. it will be what did you mean?

Prasant

“I” is used as a subject of a sentence, while “me” is used as an object.

For example:
“I visited my parents.” (you are doing the action and are the subject)

“My parents visited me.” (“My parents” is the subject, and you are receiving the action)

Thanks for the question.

Alex



Dear Alex, i am confused to identify the “subject” in the following sentences for whether to use “I/me”:

1) Between you and (I, me), there is no great difference.;
2) There are three tables.;
3) Mary is much cleverer than (they, them).;
4) He knows the secret as well as (she, her).

Thanks in advance!

ric

“To mean” means to have a specific purpose, intention, or idea in mind when you say or do something.

“I meant to call my mother, but I didn’t.”

This means that your purpose was to call your mother, but that you didn’t do it.

“It’s pretty obvious what she means” means that there is no question about what her intention, idea, or purpose is with her words.

I hope this helps!

Alex

same with me.

hoatpvdo

I believe that we will have a lesson on gerunds in the future. Keep checking back!

Alex

That is correct. Some books call the “subject + be + -ing” structure the continuous tense, while others call it the progressive tense. They are two names for the same tense.

Alex

That sentence is possible. It is a passive construction, because “she” received the action. It is the simple past, which means that it happened at a specific time in the past and that it is a finished action.

Alex



thanks……….

nizam m

If I said “the students has,” then it was a mistake. You’re correct, and the proper structure is “the students have,” or “the student has.”

Alex

different is an adjective, difference is a noun. each one has a different uses!

M.Johmani

It depends on the rest of the sentence. For example, you could say, “There was a person assaulted downtown last night.” It could also be the headline of a newspaper article.

Alex

use been after “have, has, had”
use being after verb “to be” —> this “being is the hard thing w/ these two >I’m Filipino

~just starting to enhance my grammar!

Pinoy

You used “being” in that sentence. All passive sentences use “be” in one form or another.

Alex



then i think in that example ,doesn’t is the “be” form . thank u sir.

ramnayak

then i think in that example ,doesn’t is the “be” form . thank u sir.

ramnayak

When it comes to English speaking skills, you should not pay too much attention to grammar rules at first. However, this does not mean that we should ignore English grammar completely.

Needless to say, basic English grammar rules play an important role in learning English, both written and spoken. Without grammar rules, you can sometimes make yourself understood with short and simple expressions. However, you may fail most of the time with more complicated expressions that require the correct orders or structures of words.

As a beginner, you must know basic English grammar rules, as they show you how to arrange vocabulary and make meaningful expressions.

Below is a series of 40 basic English grammar lessons covering most of the English grammar tenses and most-used structures. All the lessons are designed with clear definitions, explanations and forms, followed by lots of examples.

English Grammar

English grammar is a set of rules and guidelines that ensure the correct and standard use of the English language. It helps preserve the accuracy of the language by guiding its new learners as well as current users towards standard language use.

We have assembled an extensive list of topics that cover basic English grammar to advance in a manageable succession. We hope that the new learners can follow the list put together by our experts while the experienced ones can check back on their topic of necessity with ease.

Word

• Word: The Definition & Criteria

Sentence

• Sentence: Definition & Types
• Simple sentence
• Compound sentence
• Complex sentence, and 
• Compound-complex sentence.

Parts of speech

• Parts of speech

Noun

• Noun
• Types of Noun
• Proper Noun
• Common Noun
• Abstract Noun
• Concrete Noun
• Countable Noun
• Non-countable Noun
• Collective Noun
• Compound Noun

Pronoun

• Pronoun: Definition & Types
• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Intensive Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns

Adjective

• Adjective: Definition & Types
• Descriptive Adjectives
• Quantitative Adjectives
• Proper Adjectives
• Demonstrative Adjectives
• Possessive Adjectives
• Interrogative Adjectives
• Indefinite Adjectives
• Articles
• Compound Adjectives
• Degree of Adjectives

Verb

• Verb: Definition & Types
• Finite Verbs
• Non-finite Verbs
• Action Verbs
• Linking Verb
• Auxiliary Verbs
• Modal Verbs
• Past Participle
• Present Participle

Adverb

• Adverb: Definition & Types
• Conjunctive Adverbs
• Sentence Adverbs
• Adverbs of Time/Frequency (When?)
• Adverbs of Place/Direction (Where?)
• Adverbs of Degree (How Much?)
• Adverbs of Degree (How Much?)

Preposition

• Preposition: Definition & Types
• Prepositions of Time
• Prepositions of Place and Direction
• Prepositions of Agents or Things
• Phrasal Prepositions

Use of Prepositions

Prepositions are the most confusing and difficult part of grammar because almost every definition of a preposition has exceptions and different meanings. There is no better technique to grasp the correct use of prepositions other than practicing to picture how each preposition functions in certain contexts. There are some certain common uses and expressions of different prepositions.

• Prepositions of Time Usage
• Prepositions of Places & Direction Usage
• Use of Prepositions : Of, About, For, With, By

Conjunction

• Conjunction: Definition & Types
• Coordinating Conjunctions
• Correlative Conjunctions
• Subordinating Conjunctions

Interjection

• Interjection: Definition & Types

Article

• Article: Definition & Types
• Rules of Using Articles with Examples
• Use of Indefinite Article
• Use of Definite Article

Tense

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

Present Tense

• Present Indefinite Tense
• Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Past Tense

• Past Indefinite Tense
• Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Progressive Tense

Future Tense

• Simple Future (Future Indefinite) Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Phrases

• Phrase: Definition, Types & Examples
• Noun Phrase
• Adjective Phrase
• Adverbial Phrase
• Prepositional Phrase

Number

• Number: Rules, Types & Examples
• Singular Number
• Plural Number

Clauses

• Clauses: Definition, Types & Examples
• Independent Clause
• Dependent Clause

Conditionals

• Conditionals: Definition, Structure & Examples
• Types of Conditionals
• The Real Conditionals
• The Unreal Conditionals

Modal Auxiliaries

• Modal Auxiliaries

Mood

• Mood: Definition, Types & Examples
• Indicative Mood
• Imperative Mood
• Subjunctive Mood

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Subject-Verb Agreement: Rules & Examples

Right Forms of Verbs

• Right Forms of Verbs: Rules with Examples

Case

• Case: Definition, Types & Examples
• Subjective Case
• Objective Case
• Possessive Case

Transformation of Sentences

• Transformation of sentences

Modifiers

• Modifiers: Definition, Types & Examples
• Pre-modifiers
• Post-modifiers

Narration

• Narration: Reported to Reporting Speech

Determiners & Quantifiers

• Determiners
• Quantifiers

Prefixes

• Prefixes: Definition with Examples

Suffixes

• Suffixes: Definition with Examples

Question

• Types of Questions

Punctuation

• Punctuation: Definition, Types & Usage Rules
• Correct Use of Semicolons

Do-insertion / Do-support

• Do-insertion or Do-support

Negation

• Negation: Definition, Rules & Examples

Inversion

• Inversion: Definition with Examples

Other Topics

• Comparatives
• Subjunctive: Structures, Usage
• Perfectives: Structures & Usage
• Parallel Structure
• Embedded Questions
• Dangling Modifiers
• Pronouns before the Gerunds & Infinitives
• Antecedents of Pronoun
• Infinitive: Definition and Types
• Adjective followed by the Infinitives
• Causative Verbs
• Verbs followed by Gerunds
• Verbs followed by Infinitives
• Uses of Direct & Indirect Object
• Correct Use of «Sequence of Tense» in Writing
• Affirmative and Negative Agreement
• Avoid Redundancy to Improve Your Writing
• Singular They — Wrong or Right?
• One VS You

Why Learn English Grammar?

The number of native and second-language speakers of English makes it the most widely used language in the world to date and that has peaked the importance of learning it. Learning grammar is often one of the first steps to learning the language itself so, it’s no surprise that the learners of English cannot but spend time getting used to its grammar. 

The five basic components of grammar in the English language are listed below —

1. Phonology
2. Morphology
3. Syntax
4. Semantics
5. Pragmatics

Grammatical rules in English explain how letters form words, words become phrases or sentences, in what order they must come in a sentence and why. English grammar teaches the ropes to its learners by explaining and exemplifying each topic relevant to using the English language correctly.

The chief importance of learning it —

Know the Distinct Features of Language

By learning English grammar, students of the language get to know what features of the language set it apart from the rest. English as Second Language (ESL) learners often learn the grammatical rules in English by comparing them with the grammar of their native language. For example, it will be news to native Spanish and Arabic speakers learning English grammar that every English word is not gendered unlike that of Spanish and Arabic.

Learn the Correct Spellings and Pronunciations

Defining, theorizing and teaching the correct spellings and pronunciations of each word are among the biggest responsibilities of grammar. Phonology and phonetics deal with what spelling should sound like. For instance, grammar determines that “Saline” will always end with an “e” and the pronunciation will be IPA: /ˈseɪ.laɪn/ in the United Kingdom English and IPA: /ˈseɪliːn/ in the United States one.

The Formation, Meaning Making and Usage of Words

Morphology takes care of the word formations, meaning-making as well as usage in sentences to accurately express what people feel. As an example, grammar will explain the rules to add prefixes and suffixes to existing words including a demonstration as to how the meanings change with such additions.

Structure and Meaning of Sentences

Syntax and semantics are the sectors of grammar that deal with the formation of sentences as well as how and what they mean when particular words are used in succession. To specify, English grammar teaches how Subject + Verb + Object is the basic rule to construct any sentence in the language. 

History of English Grammar

If English is your target language, English grammar can explain what initially fails to make sense while coming across uncommon sentences or new words. One may be interested to know about the history behind its coming into being.

We must start right from the history of grammar itself. Though Sanskrit grammar had been orchestrated around the fifth century BC in India, the modern English grammar has found its roots in the Greek grammar developed around the first century BC and the subsequent Latin one based on the Greek only about two thousand years later.

Who Makes the Grammar Rules?

Grammarians and linguists make grammatical rules so that people can learn and use languages easily. Grammarians are the scholars who study, teach, write and research systax and grammatical rules for their sheer love and passion for it. They are often native speakers of the language they deal with.

Linguists, on the other hand, are language nerds who love dissecting languages and finding similarities and dissimilarities between different languages around the world. These language and grammar nerds list out the existing rules within a language (as well as their exceptions) and those become the grammatical rules.

Languages have a tendency to evolve and change with time depending on who use them and where. English grammar has been rather rigid in the sense that grammarians and linguists have laid down rules depending on what was believed to be the correct use of the language at the time. With time nevertheless, English has become the language of the entire world and so the grammatical rules started evolving with the cultures and linguistic differences of its new speakers depending on their geopolitical locations.

Our Words

Learning a language is like learning the most important aspect of a nation. English is a language which has crossed its national boundary for a long time now. English is spoken in almost all the countries of the world as an international language. As a result, this language has many varieties now. However, among these varieties, the standard form of English still is and will be regarded as the most prestigious and accepted form of English. Apparently, learning the standard form of English with the understanding of how it works incorporates paramount importance. This project is an attempt to provide the learners with the basic grammatical structures in an easily comprehensible style.    

This website will give you a complete understanding of the structures and the ways of developing sentences in English. You will find a complete list of the topics and sub-topics on the first page of the website and you will be able to access them easily. The topics are discussed thoroughly with lots of examples and explanations. You will also find the exception of the common structures noted and explained with each topic. This website will provide you with a complete grammar book and on top of that, you will find the topics interlinked so that you can access them easily.    

It is generally presumed that grammar only helps the ESL (English as a Second Language) learners to write correct English and native speakers do not need grammar to write without mistakes. However, a native speaker of English will find this website useful if s/he wants to understand how his/her mother tongue works. This website will also help the native speakers of English use their language consciously and correctly.      

We have tried our best to produce an innovative but comprehensible approach to learn English grammar. However, we know that there is a lot of scope for improvements. We will deeply appreciate your suggestions and comments and try to improve the contents.

Normally, sentences in the English language take a simple form. However, there are times it would be a little complex. In these cases, the basic rules for how words appear in a sentence can help you.

Word order typically refers to the way the words in a sentence are arranged. In the English language, the order of words is important if you wish to accurately and effectively communicate your thoughts and ideas.

Although there are some exceptions to these rules, this article aims to outline some basic sentence structures that can be used as templates. Also, the article provides the rules for the ordering of adverbs and adjectives in English sentences.

Basic Sentence Structure and word order rules in English

For English sentences, the simple rule of thumb is that the subject should always come before the verb followed by the object. This rule is usually referred to as the SVO word order, and then most sentences must conform to this. However, it is essential to know that this rule only applies to sentences that have a subject, verb, and object.

For example

Subject + Verb + Object

He loves food

She killed the rat

Sentences are usually made of at least one clause. A clause is a string of words with a subject(noun) and a predicate (verb). A sentence with just one clause is referred to as a simple sentence, while those with more than one clause are referred to as compound sentences, complex sentences, or compound-complex sentences.

The following is an explanation and example of the most commonly used clause patterns in the English language.

Inversion

The English word order is inverted in questions. The subject changes its place in a question. Also, English questions usually begin with a verb or a helping verb if the verb is complex.

For example

Verb + Subject + object

Can you finish the assignment?

Did you go to work?

Intransitive Verbs

Some sentences use verbs that require no object or nothing else to follow them. These verbs are generally referred to as intransitive verbs. With intransitive verbs, you can form the most basic sentences since all that is required is a subject (made of one noun) and a predicate (made of one verb).

For example

Subject + verb

John eats

Christine fights

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are verbs that connect a subject to the quality of the subject. Sentences that use linking verbs usually contain a subject, the linking verb and a subject complement or predicate adjective in this order.

For example

Subject + verb + Subject complement/Predicate adjective

The dress was beautiful

Her voice was amazing

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that tell what the subject did to something else. Sentences that use transitive verbs usually contain a subject, the transitive verb, and a direct object, usually in this order.

For example

Subject + Verb + Direct object

The father slapped his son

The teacher questioned his students

Indirect Objects

Sentences with transitive verbs can have a mixture of direct and indirect objects. Indirect objects are usually the receiver of the action or the audience of the direct object.

For example

Subject + Verb + IndirectObject + DirectObject

He gave the man a good job.

The singer gave the crowd a spectacular concert.

The order of direct and indirect objects can also be reversed. However, for the reversal of the order, there needs to be the inclusion of the preposition “to” before the indirect object. The addition of the preposition transforms the indirect object into what is called a prepositional phrase.

For example

Subject + Verb + DirectObject + Preposition + IndirectObject

He gave a lot of money to the man

The singer gave a spectacular concert to the crowd.

Adverbials

Adverbs are phrases or words that modify or qualify a verb, adjective, or other adverbs. They typically provide information on the when, where, how, and why of an action. Adverbs are usually very difficult to place as they can be in different positions in a sentence. Changing the placement of an adverb in a sentence can change the meaning or emphasis of that sentence.

Therefore, adverbials should be placed as close as possible to the things they modify, generally before the verbs.

For example

He hastily went to work.

He hurriedly ate his food.

However, if the verb is transitive, then the adverb should come after the transitive verb.

For example

John sat uncomfortably in the examination exam.

She spoke quietly in the class

The adverb of place is usually placed before the adverb of time

For example

John goes to work every morning

They arrived at school very late

The adverb of time can also be placed at the beginning of a sentence

For example

On Sunday he is traveling home

Every evening James jogs around the block

When there is more than one verb in the sentence, the adverb should be placed after the first verb.

For example

Peter will never forget his first dog

She has always loved eating rice.

Adjectives

Adjectives commonly refer to words that are used to describe someone or something. Adjectives can appear almost anywhere in the sentence.

Adjectives can sometimes appear after the verb to be

For example

He is fat

She is big

Adjectives can also appear before a noun.

For example

A big house

A fat boy

However, some sentences can contain more than one adjective to describe something or someone. These adjectives have an order in which they can appear before a now. The order is

Opinion – size – physical quality – shape – condition – age – color – pattern – origin – material – type – purpose

If more than one adjective is expected to come before a noun in a sentence, then it should follow this order. This order feels intuitive for native English speakers. However, it can be a little difficult to unpack for non-native English speakers.

For example

The ugly old woman is back

The dirty red car parked outside your house

When more than one adjective comes after a verb, it is usually connected by and

For example

The room is dark and cold

Having said that, Susan is tall and big

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