Key Difference: Many people struggle to learn the proper usage of grammar. There are lots and lots of confusing words available in the English language. On that note, Been and Being are two confusing words. If you are frustrated with learning where or when to use these words in a sentence, then we will help you understand that. To use these words, we might know the tense form of these two words: Being is a present participle and Been is a past participle. These two words are forms of the primary auxiliary verb “be” and can be used in different grammatical structures. Let’s see the difference between these words in detail below.
Been: I have been in New York.
Being: All workers are being watched.
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Been:
Be present
As per the Grammar rule, the word “been” is always used after “have, has, and had.” Been is a past participle verb that will end in “ed”, for instance, walked, invoked, learned. This word refers to the past and future actions when used with the verb “have.” Usually, this word will use with auxiliary verbs such as have, has, and had. It will form the perfect tenses. Let’s see an example to make it clear. I have been teaching math for over 10 years. From this sentence, we understand that someone said that he or she is teaching math for the past 10 years.
How Do We Spell the Word Been?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Been is biːn. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllables are phonological building blocks of words. It divides the words into parts that can help you read words more accurately. Let’s see how to split the word “been” using syllables. Learning syllables can also help you to spell words correctly.
- The word “been” has one syllable.
- It can be divided as “been.”
More Examples:
- You have been a very good boy.
- She has been waiting for an hour near the bus stop.
- Bella has been much interested in visiting her hometown.
- Hey, it’s been almost a month.
- My mom and dad have been married for more than 10 years.
Being:
Stay in the Same Condition
The word “being” is the present participle form of the verb “be.” This word refers to someone or something that is existing. We can use this word to indicate the natural behavior of one person, which is only one time but not a regular behavior. It is usually used to show the feelings of a person. According to the grammar rules, the word “being” is always used with helper verbs such as am, is, and was. For example, Being in his place taught me how to manage things. From this statement, we might understand that being in a specific place, someone learns how to manage things.
How Do We Spell the Word Being?
Phonetics pronunciation of the word Being is biːɪŋ. And this word sounds like the following audio.
Enunciation:
Syllabification refers to the process of division of words into smaller parts. It is commonly known as syllables. With its help, you can easily read and spell the word accurately. Here, you will see how to split the word “being” by syllables.
- The word “being” has two syllables.
- You can divide it as “be-ing.”
More Examples:
- I’m really sorry for being late.
- She used to enjoy being with friends.
- Children are being noisy every time.
- Ronnie apologized to him for being late.
- He is being nice to me nowadays.
Compare: Been Vs Being
This table will show you the contradiction between the words been and being.
| Been | Being | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | It refers to be present. | It is used as a word for the creature. |
| Synonyms | exist, live, have life, happen, take place | Reality, actuality, existence, creature, person |
| Antonyms | quit, stop, leave, halt, give up | non-existence |
| Parts of Speech | verb | verb or noun |
| Form | Past participle of be | Present participle form of the verb be |
| Tense forms | It is used in the past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect tense. | It is used in the continuous form of past, present, and future tense. |
| Examples | I have been playing hockey. They have been practicing flute at home. What have you been after? We have been sitting here too long. | All the books are being scanned. The deer are now being hunted in the forest. She accused him of being late. Tom used to enjoy being with kids. |
Resources and References:
Resources: Cambridge Dictionary (been, being), Merriam-Webster (been, being), Dictionary.com (been, being)
Reference: Dictionary.Cambridge.org[1], Merriam-Webster.com[2][3], Dictionary.com[4].