ses of being

NOVEMBER 10, 2013 - 

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.)

Deference between being and having been

Being a teacher, she likes children.

When I read this, I assume:

1) The woman is a teacher. She teaches for a living.

2) She likes children.
3) There is some relationship between her love of children and her profession. The exact nature of the causality is unclear
– perhaps she got into teaching because she likes being around children, or perhaps she's grown to enjoy being around children
because of her profession. Or maybe the writer assumes that all teachers like children. Regardless of the particulars, though, which
are left unstated, the sentence seems to imply that the two facts are somehow linked.

Having been a teacher, she likes children.

This tells me:

1) The woman was a teacher. She used to teach for a living.

2) She likes children.
3) There is some relationship between her love of children and her former profession. Again, the exact nature of the causality is
unclear – perhaps she likes children because they bring back memories of her time in the classroom. Nevertheless, this sentence
also seems to imply that the two facts are somehow linked.