being
part of speech
noun (a being, beings; being, uncountable); verb, -ing form of be («being kind», «is being»); conjunction (being as — casual)
meaning for a pupil
1) (verb) Being is the -ing form of be: «you're being silly», «being late is rude». tree →
2) A being is a living creature, real or imagined: «human beings», «beings from another planet». tree →
3) (formal) Being is existing or living: «the chess club came into being when the new teacher arrived». tree →
4) Your being means your whole self: «she loved him with all her being». tree →
5) (casual) «Being as» or «being that» means because: «Being as it's raining, we'll stay in.» — common in speech, not in good writing. tree →
6) (rough) «Stop being a pain», «you're being a right idiot» use being for annoying behaviour right now. tree →
7) (formal) «It being the case that» and «there being» are stiff ways to start a fact: «There being 30 pupils, 6 groups were formed.» tree →
sense in the lessons
In grammar, «being» makes the continuous form (is being, was being) and can start a phrase («Being tired, he went to bed»). In science and stories, «human beings» means people, and alien beings come from space. In casual talk: «being as», «stop being…». In the exam voice: «there being 30 pupils in total», «it being given that». Phrases: human being, living being, come into being, for the time being, well-being, being as.
examples
- Stop being silly and sit down. tree →
- Being kind costs nothing. tree →
- Human beings need water to live. tree →
- The film is about beings from another planet. tree →
- For the time being, we'll use the old classroom. tree →
- The school club came into being when Mrs Lee started it. tree →
- Exercise is good for your well-being. tree →
- being as there's 5 of us, get 10 sausages (casual) tree →
- You're being a right pain today, pack it in. (rough) tree →
- There being 30 pupils in total, arranged in groups of 5, determine the number of groups. (formal exam) tree →
- I saw the army being reviewed. tree →
note
«Being» as a verb form: «He is being naughty» means he is acting naughtily right now. «For the time being» = for now. Well-being = health and happiness. Do not confuse «being» with «been» (past participle: «I have been»). «Being as» (casual) = because; in writing say «because» or «as». Formal «there being 30» = there are 30; it gives a number to use.
In the corpora
- Being turned down is normal for everyone, and being picked is the reward for trying again and again.
- Some retired people miss the routine, their workmates and the feeling of being useful.
- Burnout means being worn down by too much work and stress for too long, until even small tasks feel huge.
- An employment tribunal is a kind of court for work disputes, such as being sacked unfairly or not being paid what is owed.
- You are not being punished when the answer is "not this month".
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «being» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.