When to use "being and to be, has/have been ?

dimsumexpress:

Vijay,
This is a " huge " question. It will take a few pages of explanations and they won't begin to scratch the surface. But I would recommend that you use Google as a learning tool to compare the results you might find to what you thougth you know. Just type in your query. It's not possible to offer you a formula as to when and where you should use certain patterns because writing is not like questions in chemistry or mathematics which you can answers by formulas. Having said that, I will give you a few examples for your reference:

You are being silly, asking a question like that!
If you want to be succesful, you must work hard.
He/ she has lived in the US for a long time. - present perfect sentence.
They have lived at the same address for years. -present perfect sentence.
She has many hobbies.- possessive usage
They have a lot of friends. - possessive usage.

Senior Member4,167

CalifJim:

These are all forms of the linking verb be.

has/have been forms the present perfect tense of be.

If you don't know the difference between the tenses, such as the difference between the present and the present perfect tenses, then your question is too advanced. You may have to study these concepts before you can understand the answers.

Help! There is a bear in our house!
Over the years there have been many bears in our house.

Shh! Natalie is sleeping.
Natalie has been sleeping for 10 hours!
____________

being is the -ing form of to be. It is used in exactly the same way that any -ing form is used. For example, it can be a participle:

Looking through the microscope, we saw the eyes of a bee.
Being new to the game, we lost most of the time.

Or a gerund:

Finding an interesting stone on the beach was the highlight of Julie's day.
Being alone in a big house at night can be scary.

You may have to study participles and gerunds before this explanation makes sense to you.
______

In short, being is used wherever the -ing form is required grammatically for any verb.

You should avoid speaking too loudly during the play.
You should avoid being rude to anyone.

No one objected to my reading the letter.
No one objected to my being late.

____________

to be is the infinitive form, and it is used in the same place in a sentence that any other infinitive is required.

I want to take a trip to Japan.
I want to be a ship's captain.

Karen just said that to show off.
Karen just said that to be funny.
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There is nothing special about any of the forms you have asked about. They are different forms of the verb be, which has different forms just like other verbs have. When you learn the grammar of the other verbs, you'll see that the grammar of be is almost the same.

be look take see
to be to look to take to see

being looking taking seeing
is looks takes sees

was, were looked took saw
been looked taken seen
has been has looked has taken has seen
have been have looked have taken have seen
be taken be seen
has been taken has been seen
having been taken having been seen

be is also used to form certain grammatical patterns like the progressive tenses and the passive voice. But if you haven't studied these concepts yet and the uses of the auxiliary have, there may still be some uses of be that seem mysterious to you. Get a good grammar book and learn all you can from it.

CJ

Veteran Member46,092

When to use "being and to be, has/have been ?

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