Anonymous:

Hi all
I 'm coming from Hong Kong and I have many problem in studying English.
I found the word "being" is very common in expressing something such as "People are
being suffered" . Could anybody tell me how to use the word correctly ?
Thanks
Keith
Mister Micawber:
(X) People are being suffered is incorrect as an isolated sentence. The -ing form of the
verb be has as a number of uses-- too many to go into detail here:
Human beings are impatient creatures.
I enjoy being a girl. (cf. I enjoy eating sandwiches)
Are you being funny? (cf. You're acting crazy)
Being human is not as good as being divine. (cf. Eating sandwiches is healthy)
Being human, I am not divine. (cf. Carrying a pistol, I feel divine)
There is little difference between Being and Nothingness.
etc.
If you find particular instances in context that you need help with, Keith, please let us
know.

Novalee:
"Being" is a progressive form, and you can use it after the verb to be, as in:
"You are being a naughty boy" = "you are behaving badly"
"He is being transferred to another branch of the company" = "He is in the process of
being transferred to another post in his company"
It can also be used as the subject of a sentence, such as:
"Being a teacher in a Secondary school is difficult" = "The fact of working as a teacher
is difficult"
I hope this makes sense
Being can be used in four ways:
1. In a progressive tense as the present participle of the verb be.
2. In present participial phrases.
3. As a gerund.
4. As a noun.
Here it is used in the present progressive tense:
He is being stupid.
The above implies that he is not stupid all the time, but is behaving stupidly at the time
of speaking. Here are two more examples:

I disagree with what is being said at this meeting.

The hostages are being held in a secret jungle location.
Heres an example of the present progressive tense used with future meaning:
The show is being held tomorrow from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Being can also be a gerund (a present participle that is used as a noun):
There are many things that are difficult about being an actor.
Being a terrorist is wrong.
In being a doctor, a person must have great compassion at all times.
If something comes into being, is brought into being, or is called into being, it has
been formed or been made to exist:
A new political party came into being last year.
When the new law is passed, an era of greater justice will be brought into being.
An audit committee has been called into being to review the companys spending
practices.
A commonly-heard expression is other things being equal. This is an assumption that
nothing will influence a situation except for the single factor stated:
All other things being equal, the new manufacturing technique will increase profits by
5%.
Phrases using the present participle being can be substituted for subordinate clauses
headed by because:
Because he is the owner of the house, he has the right to sell it.
Being the houses owner, he has the right to sell it.
Because it was late at night, the streets were empty.
Being late at night, the streets were empty.
Heres another example of a present participial phrase headed by being:
The companys finances being what they are, the future does not look good.
Being can also be a noun. A human being is a person. A being is something that is
alive, but difficult to fit into any category of creature:
In the movie, earth was invaded by beings from outer space.
Being also refers to life itself, especially in philosophy:
What is the purpose of being?

being + adjective
We normally use the progressive form with an adjective when we are
talking about actions and behaviour. And being unfair in your example
sentence, Boon and Nukoon, relates to somebody's behaviour of not
being fair in their actions, so the progressive form is preferred. Here are
some further examples:

You're being silly / foolish / childish when you do such silly /

foolish / childish things.

I was walking on tiptoe and being very careful not to wake the
baby.

However, when the adjectives relate to feelings, we do not use the progressive
form:

I was upset / worried when I heard that they would have to

operate on John's knee.

I am delighted / overjoyed to hear that you have passed all

your exams.
being + past participle
We use being with the past participle, Bhavin, in present progressive
and past progressive passive forms. So we might say:

My car is being serviced. Instead of: The local garage is

servicing my car.

The computers are being installed tomorrow.

Instead of: They're installing the computers tomorrow.
My nieces enjoyed being taken to the circus.
Rather than: I enjoyed taking my nieces to the circus.
I was quite sure I was being followed.
Instead of: I was quite sure someone was following me.
She was being punished for being cruel to the cat.
Rather than: They were punishing her for being cruel to the
cat.

Note that cruel in the above example is an adjective describing

behaviour so the progressive form is used with it.
Note that other passives with being, i.e the future progressive
passive (will be being) and perfect progressive passive (has been
being) are quite rare.

being in participle clauses

We can use an adverbial participle clause to express reason or cause
as an alternative to a because/since/as clause. Using a participle
clause in this way is more characteristic of written English or a literary
style, rather than spoken colloquial English. Compare the following:

Being French, he is passionate about wine and cheese.

Instead of : Because he is French, he is passionate about
wine and cheese.

Being a friend of Tony Blair, I'm often invited to No 10.

Rather than: As I am a friend of Tony Blair, I'm often invited
to No 10.
Being quite slim, I was able to squeeze through the hole in
the railings. Instead of: Since I am quite slim I was able to

squeeze through the hole in the railings.

Being rather over weight, Geoffrey was unable to squeeze

through. Rather than: Because he's rather over weight,
Geoffrey was unable to squeeze through.

verb + verb-ing / adj + prep + verb-ing

Note that being as verb-ing, is required in all such instances:

Would you mind being quiet for a moment?

I look forward to being interviewed on the current affairs

programme.
She was afraid of being accused of a crime which she did not
commit.

I am tired of being taken for granted and expected to do all

the housework.

The word being has several forms: am, is, was, were, be, being, been. In general
the word is used to mean that something is currently in a particular state. For
example, I might say that "You are being annoying" or that "It is raining outside. I
will give some examples below of the different uses:
am (about oneself): I am at home. I am friendly. I am a person.
is: (about an object other than oneself): She is friendly. It is snowing outside. Pizza
is a tasty food.
was: (past form of am and is). I was walking home. She was friendly but now she is
mean.
were: (plural of was): They were walking to the store.
to be: (this is the non-conjugated form of the verb, it means to exist or to be in a
certain state) To be good at archery, one must practice a lot. You should be good,
and you will receive a treat.
being: (this indicates that something is in the on-going, present state of existing or
having a given property) You are being silly. Being good at something takes work.
been (indicates that something has been ongoing in the past and up through the
present): The stock prices have been plummeting for the past week. The Mets have
really been on a bad streak lately.
Although I am not an expert, hopefully the above examples will be of some help.