Usage of Been and Being

                          These words are often confused by ALL students.  Although they are both forms of the primary auxiliary verb be, they are used in different grammatical structures. The word been is the past participle form of be. It is used after have.

• I have been here for a long time time
• He has been working for me.

                        The word being is the present participle form of the verb be. It is not used after have. As a rule, being is used after a form of be (is, am, are, was, were).

• He is being positive in his nature.
• Those films are being made now

Being as a Noun

                   The word ‘being’ can also be a noun.

                   The word being can be used as a noun. As a noun being means a person or a living creature. Supernatural beings refer to spirits or gods.

                Examples are: human beings, social beings, supernatural beings, living beings etc.

• The structure be + being can be followed by an adjective or noun.
• He was being careful.
•  She was being silly.

This structure is used to talk about actions and behaviors. It is not normally used to talk about feelings.