Meaning & use
being carried
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
The state of a person or thing being moved or held up by someone or something else.
Grammar: Used as a noun-like phrase: 'Being carried is tiring for the child.'
Patterns
- being carried by someone
- being carried on something
- being carried to somewhere
She fell asleep while being carried upstairs to bed.
The injured player was being carried off the field on a stretcher.
The bags were being carried on a trolley.
Common combinations
- being carried away
- He got so excited that he was being carried away by his emotions.
- being carried out
- The plan was being carried out exactly as planned.
- being carried on
- The conversation was being carried on in whispers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- transported
- More formal; often used for goods or large numbers of people rather than a single person being lifted.
- borne
- Literary or formal; means carried, but usually appears in fixed phrases like 'water-borne' or 'airborne'.
Word family
Commonly confused: being carried or carrying?
being carried vs carrying
'Carrying' means the person or thing is doing the carrying; 'being carried' means they are receiving the action.
Practice
Choose the correct form: The child was ___ by her father.
Choose one answer.
'Being carried' fits because the child receives the action and the sentence needs a passive -ing form after 'was'. 'Carrying' would mean the child was doing the carrying, which is not the meaning here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “being carried”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.