Writing Questionsssss

WasatchWriter
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 17:34:30 +0000

“being,” like all “-ing” verbs, can never function on its own as the verb of a clause. A simple tensed verb is usually preferable (in this case “were”); otherwise, the verb must be preceded buy an auxiliary (e.g., “we were running”).

BUT: an auxiliary with “being” is typically (not always) redundant. E.g., “We were being in the store” is horrible. “We were being friendly” sounds natural, especially if there is some doubt about the issue, and the writer wants to emphasize that we really were bring friendly – as opposed to, say, nasty.

Be careful when you see “being” on these tests.