Being given, being recorded

Question

This could prevent people being given a positive result based on an old infection.But Prof Heneghan, the academic who spotted a quirk in how deaths were being recorded, which led Public Health England to reform its system, says evidence suggests coronavirus "infectivity appears to decline after about a week".Coronavirus: Tests 'could be picking up dead virus'Please explain the use of "being" in both highlighted parts.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

JigneshbharatiThis could prevent people (from) being given a positive result

American usage has 'from' there.

The verb 'prevent' takes an -ing form to state what is prevented (with or without 'from' depending on the variety of English). In this example the thing that is prevented can be expressed in the active form

The test gives people a positive result.

The passive is

People are given a positive result.

So you're trying to say [prevent {People are given a positive result}] with correct English syntax.

To do that, after 'prevent', the finite form 'are' becomes the non-finite form 'being', and you have this:

prevent people (from) being given a positive result

More examples with 'prevent'.

Do they want to prevent individuals from keeping their current health care plan?
His grave had to be relocated back to Graceland to prevent it being dug up.
This will help prevent the food from sticking to the mould after it is cooked.
They have been fighting hard to prevent any serious action being taken at Kyoto.
Consider covering your eyes and ears to prevent being struck by flying debris.

Jigneshbharatithe academic who spotted a quirk in how deaths were being recorded

This is a matter of mastering your verb conjugations so you can recognize all the tenses.

Active, past simple: The clerks recorded deaths.
Active, past continuous: The clerks were recording deaths.
Passive, past simple: Deaths were recorded.
Passive, past continuous: Deaths were being recorded.

The passive past continuous tense above gives you the indirect question

how deaths were being recorded (from How were deaths being recorded?)

which is then used as the complement to the preposition 'in'.

More examples of the past continuous in passive voice:

All of them were being auditioned for possible inclusion in the play.
He was being held Friday on $100,000 bail at the Kane County jail.
A customer said that unauthorized purchases were being made to his account.

CJ

Being given, being recorded

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