The use of the word being in english

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.)

Is being a helping verb or a main verb? In this post, we will learn different uses of being in the English language.

In English, the verb being is used as both a helping and an action verb in different situation. Let’s understand how and when to use being in English.

Use of BEING in English

  1. As a main verb
  2. As a helping verb
  3. As a noun (gerund)
  4. As a present participle in participle phrases
  5. BEING as a noun

Different uses of BEING

Different uses of BEING

As a main verb, BEING is the present participle (V3) of the verb BE. As a main verb, being refers to a continuous state of being that someone deliberately is in. It is used as a main verb in the Present continuous tense and the Past Continuous tense.

V1 V2 V3 (past participle) Present participle (V1+ing)
Be (is/am/are) was, were been being
different forms of the verb ‘be’

When being is used as a main verb (stative), it is followed by the helping verb BE (is, am, are, was, were).

Structure: Subject + is/am/are/was/were + being + adjective/noun

Examples of BEING as a main verb:

  • You are being funny.
  • She is being silly right now.
  • Why are you being my father?
  • Jon is being a great team member to us.
  • She was being crazy in the party last night.
  • I am just being sarcastic. Excuse me!
  • They were being really rude to me yesterday.
  • Jyoti is not being sincere towards her job.
  • You are not being you.

In all the above sentences, being is working as a stative verb. It is not showing any dynamic action. It is just showing a state of being that someone is or was in deliberately. Try replacing it with the verb ‘behaving.’ You will understand what it’s doing.

Note: Do not use feelings or emotions after BEING.

  • I am being happy. ❌
  • I am happy. ✔️
  • He is being sad/emotional. ❌
  • He is sad/emotional. ✔️

You don’t deliberately get into a state of a feeling/ emotion. You can’t just turn it on and off; a feeling or emotion is a consequence.

2. Use of being as a main verb

We use being as a helping verb in the Present Continuous tense and the Past Continuous tense in passive voice.

Structures:

Present continuous tense (passive voice)

Subject + is/am/are + being + V3 + (by the doer)

Past continuous tense (passive voice)

Subject + was/were + being + V3 + (by the doer)

Examples of being as a helping verb:

  • We are writing a book about human mind. (active, present continuous)
  • A book on human mind is being written (by us). (passive, present continuous)
  • The cops were beating some kids brutally. (active, past continuous)
  • Some kids were being beaten. (passive, past continuous)
  • She is being offered a job.
  • I am being ridiculed.
  • My friends are being beaten up.
  • The next video is being recorded right now.
  • Your efforts are being appreciated.
  • His father is being checked up right now.
  • The food is being prepared right now.
  • The movie was being made that time.
  • That book was being written last month.
  • The actors were being tested for their roles.
  • Our annual performance was being evaluated in the meeting last night.

NOTE: In passive voice, the focus is given to the receiver of the action, and the doer is generally ignored. As a result of which, we, usually, don’t add the doer of the action in a passive voice sentence.

3. Use of being as a noun (gerund)

Being is also used as a gerund (a noun) in a gerund phrase. Let’s take some examples of being as a noun (gerund).

Examples:

  • Being a politician in this country is tough.
    (Gerund phrase = Being a politician in this country, acting as the subject)
  • Being angry does not help in taking rational decisions.
    (Gerund phrase = Being angry, acting as the subject)
  • Being a teacher allows you to change lives.
    (Gerund phrase = Being a teacher, acting as the subject)
  • I hate being his friend.
    (Gerund phrase = Being his friend, acting as the object of the verb)
  • The benefit of being my friend is that nobody messes up with you.
    (Gerund phrase = Being my friend, acting as the object of the preposition OF)

4. Use of being as a present participle in participle phrases

Being is also used in the beginning of a participle phrase. Let’s take some examples of being as a present participle.

A participle phrase works either as an adjective or an adverb in a sentence.

Examples:

  • Being scared to death, I don’t play with dogs.
  • Rahul, being a father of two kids, does not flirt with girls.
  • Being the owner of the company, you have to deal with all the complaints.
  • Being a cop, he has to be strong.

5. BEING as a noun

Being means “a life” or “existence” and can be used as a word.

  • Every being deserves to live.
  • The movement of releasing stray dogs was brought into being last year.
  • Many believed that Shiva is a mythical being.

Hope you enjoyed the lesson! Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.

For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected]

Related YouTube lessons:

  • Main verbs and helping verbs
  • Noun in English
  • Gerund in English
  • Gerund phrases in English
  • Participle phrases in English
  • Present Continuous tense
  • Past Continuous tense
  • Use of passive voice in English

Being is a word that can be hard to master for English as a Second Language speakers. It can be used as a gerund, or in present or past continuous tenses.

In a present or past continuous tense, being says that it is happening now, or was happening before, in a continual manner.

He is being nice.
She was being bad.
You are being good.
They were being mean.
I am being patient.

Being can also be used as a gerund, a word that acts like a noun and looks like a verb.

Do you like being a student? («like» is the verb, «being» is a noun»)
Being a teacher is fun. («is» is the verb, «being» is the subject)
I enjoy being nice to people. («enjoy» is the verb, «being» is the object described as nice)

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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.»

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From the verb be: (⇒ conjugate)
being is: Click the infinitive to see all available inflections
v pres p

WordReference Random House Learner’s Dictionary of American English © 2023

be•ing /ˈbiɪŋ/USA pronunciation  
n. 

  1. the fact of existing;
    existence:[uncountable]brought this council into being to find new solutions.
  2. conscious, living existence;
    life:[uncountable]How did we come into being?
  3. a living thing;
    creature:[countable]Are there intelligent beings on other planets?
  4. [countable] a human being;
    person.

conj.

  1. Slang Terms[Chiefly Dialect.]since;
    because;
    considering:[+ how/that]Being that we don’t really know you, how can we vote for you?

v. 

  1. (used in a phrase to explain something about the rest of the sentence):I was scared and feeling pretty anxious, this being my first time in a new country.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2023

be•ing 
(bēing),USA pronunciation n. 

  1. the fact of existing;
    existence (as opposed to nonexistence).
  2. conscious, mortal existence;
    life:Our being is as an instantaneous flash of light in the midst of eternal night.
  3. substance or nature:of such a being as to arouse fear.
  4. something that exists:inanimate beings.
  5. a living thing:strange, exotic beings that live in the depths of the sea.
  6. a human being;
    person:the most beautiful being you could imagine.
  7. (cap.) God.
  8. Philosophy
    • that which has actuality either materially or in idea.
    • absolute existence in a complete or perfect state, lacking no essential characteristic;
      essence.

conj.

  1. Slang Terms[Nonstandard.]since;
    because;
    considering that (often fol. by as, as how, or that):Being it’s midnight, let’s go home. Being as how you cooked supper, I’ll do the dishes.
  • 1250–1300; Middle English; see be,ing1

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

being /ˈbiːɪŋ/ n

  1. the state or fact of existing; existence
  2. essential nature; self
  3. something that exists or is thought to exist, esp something that cannot be assigned to any category: a being from outer space
  4. a person; human being

WordReference Random House Learner’s Dictionary of American English © 2023

be /bi; unstressed bi, bɪ/USA pronunciation  
v. and auxiliary verb. Present forms: singular;
1st person form:
am, 2nd person form: are, 3rd person form: is. Present plural form: are.  Past forms: singular;
1st person form:
was, 2nd person form: were, 3rd person form: was. Past plural form: were.  Present subjunctive form: be. Past subjunctive form: were.  Present participle form: be•ing. Past participle form: been. 

v. [usually: not: be + ~-ing]

  1. to have (the quality, job, etc., mentioned);
    used to connect the subject with an adjective, or to another noun or a phrase in order to describe, identify, or say more about the subject: Wilt is tall. I am Barbara. Indira Gandhi was the first woman prime minister of India.
  2. to exist or live: Shakespeare’s famous line «To be or not to be» asks if life is worth living. There is a man with five cats on my street (= A man with five cats lives/exists on my street).
  3. See definition 10 below.

  4. to take place;
    occur: The wedding was last week.
  5. to occupy a place or position: The book is on the table. We will be in Oslo in a few minutes. Where were you?
  6. to belong to a group:Whales are mammals.
  7. to continue or remain as before: Let things be.
  8. (used as a verb to introduce a question or in a command, request, or piece of advice):Is that right? Be quiet! Don’t be so mean. Be careful about what you say.
  9. (used after it or there in order to delay talking about the real subject of a sentence, or as a way of introducing something new about the subject):It was she who was late for the class (real subject = «she»). There was a fly in my soup (real subject = «fly»).Note: in sentences with there, the form of be agrees with the real subject that follows:There was a fly in my soup («was» agrees with «fly»); There were flies in my soup («were» agrees with «flies»).
  10. See there, it.

  11. (used in a short answer where it stands for a longer phrase that has be in the question):Is he coming? Yes, he is (= Yes, he is coming.) Are you the new president of the Chinese club? No, I am not (= No, I am not the new president of the Chinese club).
  12. (used in a short question, called a tag question, that comes after a subject and verb to ask for the listener’s agreement):She is not very pretty, is she? You are running pretty hard, aren’t you?

auxiliary verb.

  1. (used with the -ing form (the present participle) of another, main verb to show continuous activity ): I am waiting. We were talking.
  2. (used with to plus the root form (the infinitive) of another verb to express a command, or indicate future action): He is to see me today (= He will see me today). You are not to leave before six (= You must not leave before six). I am to start my new job next week (= I will start my new job next week).
  3. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice, that is, to show the action of the verb has been done to the subject of the sentence): The policeman was shot. Your passports have been sent on.

    The verb be is special in English, first because it functions as an auxiliary, but also in the way it works as a main verb. It changes forms depending on its subject in the present and past tenses. Like the verbs do and have, the verb be comes first in questions that can be answered with the words «yes» or «no»: Am I sure? Is she crazy? Are you there? Finally, the verb be can have the word not after it (again like do and have): She is not crazy. When be is used as a main verb, it seldom is used in the progressive tenses; we indicate this in this book by the symbol [not: be + ~-ing]. When talking about people’s activity or how they behave, sometimes be as a main verb can take the -ing form of itself: I’m being careful (= I am acting in a careful manner); You’re being so patient (= You are acting in so patient a manner). We do not use be in the -ing form to talk about states of the mind, or of feeling: I am happy now (not: I am being happy now); He is tired now (not: He is being tired now).



be-, prefix.

  1. be- is attached to words to make verbs with the meaning «to make, become, treat as»: be- + cloud → becloud (= make like a cloud, hard to see);
    be- + friend → befriend (= treat someone as a friend).
  2. be- is also attached to adjectives and verbs ending in -ed to mean «covered all over;
    completely;
    all around»:be- + decked → bedecked (= decked or covered all over);be- + jeweled → bejeweled (= covered with jewels).

B.E., an abbreviation of:

  1. Education, Bachelor of Education.
  2. Education, Bachelor of Engineering.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2023

be 
(bē; unstressed bē, bi),USA pronunciation v.  and auxiliary v., pres. sing. 1st pers. am, 2nd are  or (Archaic) art, 3rd is, pres. pl. are*  past sing. 1st pers. was, 2nd were  or (Archaic) wast  or wert, 3rd was, past pl. were;
 pres. subj. be;
 past subj. sing. 1st pers. were, 2nd were  or (Archaic) wert, 3rd were;
 past subj. pl. were;
 past part. been;
 pres. part. be•ing. 

v.i.

  1. to exist or live:Shakespeare’s «To be or not to be» is the ultimate question.
  2. to take place;
    happen;
    occur:The wedding was last week.
  3. to occupy a place or position:The book is on the table.
  4. to continue or remain as before:Let things be.
  5. to belong;
    attend;
    befall:May good fortune be with you.
  6. (used as a copula to connect the subject with its predicate adjective, or predicate nominative, in order to describe, identify, or amplify the subject):Martha is tall. John is president. This is she.
  7. (used as a copula to introduce or form interrogative or imperative sentences):Is that right? Be quiet! Don’t be facetious.

auxiliary verb.

  1. (used with the present participle of another verb to form the progressive tense):I am waiting.
  2. (used with the present participle or infinitive of the principal verb to indicate future action):She is visiting there next week. He is to see me today.
  3. (used with the past participle of another verb to form the passive voice):The date was fixed. It must be done.
  4. (used in archaic or literary constructions with some intransitive verbs to form the perfect tense):He is come. Agamemnon to the wars is gone.
  • Middle English been, Old English bēon (bēo- (akin to Old Frisian, Old High German bim, German bin, Old Saxon bium, biom (I) am, Old English, Old High German, Old Saxon būan, Old Norse būa reside, Latin fuī (I) have been, Greek phy- grow, become, Old Irish boí (he) was, Sanskrit bhávati (he) becomes, is, Lithuanian búti to be, Old Church Slavonic byti, Persian būd was)) + -n infinitive suffix. See am, is, are1, was, were bef. 900

    See me. 



Be, [Symbol, Chem.]

  1. Chemistryberyllium.

be-,

  1. a native English prefix formerly used in the formation of verbs:become, besiege, bedaub, befriend.
  • Middle English, Old English, unstressed form of by

Bé.,

  1. HydraulicsBaumé.

B/E,

  1. Businessbill of exchange.

Also, b.e. 

B.E.,

    1. Education, Bachelor of Education.
    2. Education, Bachelor of Engineering.
    3. BusinessBank of England.
    4. Businessbill of exchange.
    5. EducationBoard of Education.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

be /biː; (unstressed) / vb ( pres. sing. 1st pers am, 2nd pers are, 3rd pers is, pres. pl are, past sing 1st pers was, 2nd pers were, 3rd pers was, past pl were, pres. part being, past part been)(intransitive)

  1. to have presence in the realm of perceived reality; exist; live: I think, therefore I am, not all that is can be understood
  2. (used in the perfect or past perfect tenses only) to pay a visit; go: have you been to Spain?
  3. to take place; occur: my birthday was last Thursday
  4. (copula) used as a linking verb between the subject of a sentence and its noun or adjective complement or complementing phrase. In this case be expresses the relationship of either essential or incidental equivalence or identity (John is a man; John is a musician) or specifies an essential or incidental attribute (honey is sweet; Susan is angry). It is also used with an adverbial complement to indicate a relationship of location in space or time (Bill is at the office; the dance is on Saturday)
  5. (takes a present participle) forms the progressive present tense: the man is running
  6. (takes a past participle) forms the passive voice of all transitive verbs and (archaically) certain intransitive ones: a good film is being shown on television tonight, I am done
  7. (takes an infinitive) expresses intention, expectation, supposition, or obligation: the president is to arrive at 9.30, you are not to leave before I say so

Etymology: Old English bēon; related to Old High German bim am, Latin fui I have been, Greek phuein to bring forth, Sanskrit bhavati he is

being‘ also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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