Grammar Tips By Dr. Ottah Gabriel Alhassan

Someone asked to know the difference in function between the words been and being. I explained to her and I feel I should also share it with my readers on this wall. 

Both been and being are auxiliary verbs. They are both used in the passive structures. These are the two similarities between them, but they differ remarkably in terms of function. 

'Been' is used with has, have or had to constitute the passive voice of the present and past perfect tenses. See the examples here:
*The poor girl has been rescued. 
*All kidnappers in the state have been warned to desist from the act. 
*The problem had been on ground before the Governor came. 
To be sure you are correct, when you make a statement with been, find out whether any of these words (has, have, had) is directly behind it, otherwise the sentence is wrong grammatically. 

'Being' is used with the primary auxiliary verbs is, are, was, were and am to constitute a continuous tense in the passive form. See the examples here:
*A meeting is being held in government house. 
*The suspect was being questioned by the police. 
*The people are being deceived by politicians. 
*Corps members were being drilled ahead of the Passing out Parade. 
*I am being threatened by a gang. 

From the examples, you agree with me that the sentences below are not correct:
*The poor girl has being rescued (use been instead). 
*Abubakar has being asking for his share of the money (use been). 
*Ndamodu Ali is been sceptical about it (use being). 
*We are been queried for no reason (use being). 

Note also that it is better to adopt the active structures in your sentences. For example, instead of 'I am being threatened by a gang' as shown above, simply save yourself with the active voice 'a gang is threatening me.' 

This long explanation suggests that the partners of 'been' are has, have and had. No other word can come before it as far as English language is concerned. For 'being', the partners are is, was, are, were and am. 

I greet you all.

Dr. Ottah Gabriel Alhassan
Mass Communication Dept
Kogi State University, Ayingba