sentence forms

Question

What are the the present perfect and present continuous forms of these sentences, specifically how would they be used with ‘being’ and ‘acting'?

You are being weird.
You were being weird.

You are acting strange.
You were acting strange.

Or is it not possible for them to be in these forms?

Thanks

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

You have already shown the present continuous and the past continuous forms.

Present: You are weird. You act strange.
Past: You were weird. You acted strange.
Present perfect: You have been weird. You have acted strange.

Present continuous: You are being weird. You are acting strange.
Past continuous: You were being weird. You were acting strange.
Present perfect continuous: You have been being weird. You have been acting strange.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks a lot for responding, CJ.

CalifJimYou have already shown the present continuous and the past continuous forms.

Opp. Yes, my bad. I meant to say the ‘present perfect continuous’.

CalifJimPresent: You are weird. You act strange.Past: You were weird. You acted strange.Present perfect: You have been weird. You have acted strange.

I can understand how the sentences work with the word ‘act’, but I am a bit confused with ‘being’! Because ‘act’ is used in all of the sentence forms, where as ‘being’ is only used in the last three examples. Why is that? Is that due to how it functions?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousBecause ‘act’ is used in all of the sentence forms, where as ‘being’ is only used in the last three examples.

No. You're looking at the pattern wrong. "be" is the main verb in one case; "act" is the main verb in the other case.

Wherever "acting" is used, "being" is used. The present and past of "be" are "are" and "were". The past participle is "been". The present and past of "act" are "act" and "acted". The past participle is "acted". Everything that seems inconsistent is due to the fact that "be" is an irregular verb.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimNo. You're looking at the pattern wrong. "be" is the main verb in one case; "act" is the main verb in the other case.

I see.

CalifJimWherever "acting" is used, "being" is used.

Yes. Isn’t that considered the present participle. It is kind of confusing!

CalifJimhe present and past of "be" are "are" and "were". The past participle is "been".

Yes. Then in the case of the present continuous and past continuous isn’t ‘be’ used twice in different forms (are;being)?

You are being weird.

CalifJimEverything that seems inconsistent is due to the fact that "be" is an irregular verb.

Yes, I think that is what is confusing me! The use of ‘being' with ‘be' (are, were), because being is be. Isn’t being a form of be?

CalifJim · Answer

Anonymous ... "acting" ... "being" ... Isn’t that considered the present participle?

Yes.

AnonymousThen in the case of the present continuous and past continuous isn’t ‘be’ used twice in different forms (are;being)?You are being weird.

Yes. am, is, and are (forms of be) are always the auxiliary verbs for the present continuous tense. The main verb is in the -ing form. If the main verb happens to be be, you'll see it twice—once as the auxiliary verb; once as the main verb. There's nothing really different about being in this pattern.

is taking, is giving, is bringing, is going, is being, is doing, is working, ...
are taking, are giving, are bringing, are going, are being, are doing, are working, ...

AnonymousIsn’t being a form of be?

Yes. As explained above.

takes, take, took, taken, taking (forms of take) are like is, are, was/were, been, being (forms of be).

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimYes. am, is, and are (forms of be) are always the auxiliary verbs for the present continuous tense. The main verb is in the -ing form.

I see. But you said that ‘be’ is the main verb in one case and ‘act’ in the other. So does the main verb change when using the present continuous, in which it is the -ing of being? So meaning the auxiliary verb in the present continuous sentence is not the ‘be’ in the other sentence forms. Hence, the word ‘being’ (and not the the auxiliary verb) in the present continuous sentence is the main verb that is equivalent to ‘are’ and ‘were’ in the present and past tense sentence forms. Am I right?

I think what I said explains the use and confusion of ‘being’ and ‘be’, maybe!!

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousSo does the main verb change when using the present continuous ... the word ‘being’ (and not the the auxiliary verb) in the present continuous sentence is the main verb that is equivalent to ‘are’ and ‘were’ in the present and past tense sentence forms. Am I right?

Yes, of course. If you are constructing the present continuous of "break", "break" is the main verb and it must be in its -ing form: I am breaking; you are breaking; he is breaking; etc. If you are constructing the present continuous of "be", "be" is the main verb and it must be in its -ing form: I am being; you are being; he is being; etc.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

CalifJimYes, of course.

Great.

CalifJim If you are constructing the present continuous of "break", "break" is the main verb and it must be in its -ing form: I am breaking; you are breaking; he is breaking; etc. If you are constructing the present continuous of "be", "be" is the main verb and it must be in its -ing form: I am being; you are being; he is being; etc.

Got it. I was just confused I guess because of the use of the auxiliary verb and ‘be’, I guess. I could not differentiate between them. Thanks for clarifying that if the main verb happens to be ‘be’ it will appear twice and ‘being’ is the main verb and not the auxiliary verb. I am glad I know understand.

Thanks a lot again for your valuable help, teacher.

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