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As far as I know, we can omit "being" in the sentence 1 and 2.

1- He smiled at his girlfriend, her clothes (being) all muddy and tattered.

2- His Ipad (being) dead, he felt bored.

Can I omit the "being" in these sentences below as well? If I cant, what is the difference?

3- I was preaparing the food , my friends being sick of waiting. (I was preparing the food and my friends were sick of waiting)

4- The word “book” has a double meaning , the noun form being "a set of pages inside a cover”, while the verb form is "to arrange to have a seat etc. at a particular time in the future".

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  • Please can you provide more context? Where did these phrases come from and how did you get to the conclusions you have drawn about where they can and can't be omitted? – Bee Jun 19 at 15:55
  • 1 and 2 are the verbless analogues of the absolutes with "being". 3 and 4 are possible too. – BillJ Jun 19 at 17:13
  • It should be he felt bored, not he felt boring. (And was would be more common than felt.) – Jason Bassford Supports Monica Jun 19 at 18:43
  • @BillJ Some native speakers told me that I couldn't omit "being" in 3 and 4. That's why I asked this question. – Talha Özden Jun 20 at 7:46
  • @Jason Bassford Could you give your opinion on sentence 3 and 4? – Talha Özden Jun 20 at 7:46
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I would not omit "being" in any of these four cases, unless I were writing a novel or a poem. I wouldn't say it's incorrect. It may be a style issue. If you added the word "with" it would be clearer:

The word “book” has a double meaning, with the noun form being "..."

With his iPad dead, he felt bored.

I was preparing the food, with my friends sick of waiting.

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  • Thank you so much. I suppose this versions are okay too? : "With his iPad being dead, he felt bored." or "I was preparing the food, with my friends being sick of waiting." – Talha Özden Jun 26 at 7:37

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