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Not being good at swimming, he didn't like it.

Could we omit the word "being" here?

Not good at swimming, he didn't like it.

Which one is grammatically correct?

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  • Yes, you can. But you can also improve your writing and avoid participles. You can rewrite your sentence dozens of ways. Here is one: He disliked swimming because he wasn't a good swimmer. Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 15:35
  • @AlanCarmack Would you care to elaborate as to why the reduced form is permissive? I thought participle clauses must comprise a participle, whereas Shirley decided to drop that integral part.
    – user3395
    Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 16:18
  • @user2684291 You might think of it as: "Since he was not good at swimming, he didn't like it." It is just omitting understood information.
    – user3169
    Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 16:53
  • @user2684291 If I had time to elaborate I would write an answer. ;) Nevertheless: (Being) a good insulator, rubber is often used in cables. See also grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#absolute and thegrammarexchange.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/340600179/m/… and english.stackexchange.com/questions/121630/… Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 16:54
  • Thank you for the explanation, I believe this answers the question.
    – user3395
    Commented Mar 26, 2016 at 17:00

2 Answers 2

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Not (being) good at swimming, he didn't like it.

There is no problem omitting being in such phrases.

Other examples include

[Being] afraid of water, he didn't like swimming.

Not [being] good at swimming, he became a boxer.

See also 12 other example sentences (Numbers 12-23) in a similar question and answer at Azar Grammar Exchange. The first post is the question, and the second post gives the answers to each numbered sentence.

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You can use the -ing form of a verb to give a reason by reducing a dependent clause, for example:

As he's not good at swimming, he didn't like it = Being not good at swimming, he didn't like it.

As commented by AlanCarmack, you can omit the present participle being in the participle phrase 'Not being good at swimming".

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