be being been

Do you know when exactly can you use be, being, and been?

Don't get confused, the English language has a lot of confusing words.

to be (base form)

Verbs in English that are often followed by "to":

hope
I hope to be as strong as my brother someday.

learn
Ton is learning to be fluent in German.

need
I need to be more relaxed.

plan
My boss plans to be in Paris on Christmas.

pretend
The boys are pretending to be smart.

promise
She promises to be on time for the meeting.

try
The postman said he'd try to be on time tomorrow.

want
I want to be better at chess.

use be after should, could, and would:

He should be reliable.
This could be a good idea.
I would be happy to travel.

BEING (continuous form)

Use it after:

am / is / are (present continuous)
was / were (past continuous)

Examples:
You can't use the heating right now because the heating is being repaired.
When you stopped working, you was just being lazy.
Stop being a fool and stop drinking.
Being late is no excuse.

Use being (not be or been) after prepositions:

She was in the forest after being in the church.
Being lazy all the time will not solve the problem.
Being a professional chess player is very frustrating.
He got the prize for being the best player.

BEEN (past participle)

Use it after the verbs have/has (present perfect) and had (past perfect).

Examples:
He has been late.
Have you ever been to Germany?
The equipment has been repaired.
They have been working together for a long time.

Use been after could have, should have, and would have:

You should have been smarter.
The result would have been better if we had started earlier.
The man could have been on time.

When to use BE, BEING, & BEEN

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