Difference Between Been and Being

Main Difference – Been vs. Being

Been and Being are two words that often confuse many English learners. Although both of them are forms of the primary auxiliary verb be, there is a distinct difference between been and being. The main difference between Been and Being is that been is the past participle of the be verb whereas being is the present participle. In addition, been is generally used after the verb have and its conjugations whereas being is generally used after the verb be and its conjugations. Let us look at the further difference between been and being, in this article.

Been – Meaning and Usage

Been is the past participle of the verb be. As a rule, been is always used after the verb have (has, have, had etc.) to form the perfect tenses. Here, been acts as the auxiliary verb. Since been is the past participle, it is mostly used in sentences that are written in the past tense.

She has always been sympathetic to their cause.

I have been to Morocco twice.

They had been waiting for two months.

He must have been drunk at the time of the accident.

By next year, we will have been together for ten years.

The easiest way to distinguish the difference between been and being is to remember that been is always used after the verb have, and been should never be used after the verb be.

How many times have you been to Paris?

Being – Meaning and Usage

Being is the present participle of the be verb. It is usually used after the verb to be (any form of be) Being can never be used after have. Being acts as the auxiliary verb in continuous tenses. For example,

You are being stubborn.

The film is being is being shown in selected cinema halls.

When I arrived at the hospital, he was being transferred to another hospital.

Being can be also used as a noun. As a noun, being can refer to a creature or existence. For example,

No human being should suffer this pain.

This practice came into being after the 19^th century.

Being can also be used as a gerund.

Being sympathetic is not going to help them.

Do you like being famous?

Her artwork is being exhibited at the gallery.