Clause for the phrase "Being that ..."
There is this sentence:
There are several parts to this problem, the most important (part) being that many of the learners find it rather boring.
I would like to know if the phrase in bold-faced type is short form of a clause or something.
If yes, what is the original form of the sentence?
To me, it sounds like the original form is "the most important of which is that..."
As in:
The man who lives next door = the man living next door
Does it follow the same rule or is the case different?
And, can we simply use the verb "is" instead and say "the most important is that ..."
If yes, what is the difference between "...being that..." and "...is that..." in the sentence? Is it only a matter of style?
There are several parts to this problem, the most important being that many of the learners find it rather boring.
This is an absolute construction in which There are several parts to this problem is the main clause serving as anchor. The clause the most important being that many of the learners find it rather boring is a supplement. It is not syntactically integrated into the main clause. The non-finite gerund-participle verb form, being, is necessary to mark this clause as subordinate. If we had a tensed verb, we would just have two distinct sentences:
- There are several parts to this problem. The most important
beingis that many of the learners find it rather boring.
Some of the other answers here suggest that this type of construction is ungrammatical. This is clearly not the case. Here are three examples of such constructions from published books:
The Societa Nazionale d'Industrie Meccaniche are proprietors of two establishments at Naples, the most important being that of Pietrasa, which they have hired from the government. (Journal of the Society of Arts - Volume 19 - p. 680)
There are many effects of lactulose and soluble fibers on ammonia metabolism, the most important being that ammonia is metabolized by the colonic bacterial flora to produce acids that reduce the pH of colonic content. (Textbook of vetinary internal medicine, Ettinger et al, p.1634)
As a perspective, it has made certain assumptions, the most important being that the human being is phenomenal, caused, open to scientific measurement, and not an active agent in relation to his or her environment—not self- determining or free.(The Production of Reality: Essays and Readings on Social Interaction, Jodi O'Brien, p.40)
These have been taken from the many hundreds of examples from GoogleBooks available here.
The OED lists it as a conjunction; etymology is:
being, present participle of be v. (compare be v. 3).
- It being the case that, seeing that, since. Now regional and nonstandard.
However, there are examples over centuries. Google Ngram provides a variety, although there are many false hits.
According to the OED:
It can immediately begin a clause, or is used with that:
b. With that.
a1642 H. Best Farming & Memorandum Bks. (1984) 126
They wente all for halfe gates, beinge that they coulde not bee discerned.1780 Mirror No. 75 (1781) 3 1 For this, you must answer to yourself, being that you are able to write printed papers.
1813 J. Austen Let. 11 Oct. (1952) 86, I am tired of Lives of Nelson, being that I never read any.
1815 Scott Guy Mannering I. ix. 138 With whom he himself had no delight in > associating, ‘being that he was addicted unto profane and scurrilous jests’.
1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xiv. 270 It goes sorely against my conscience, Sir; but being that he is your cousin, of course—.
1942 A. Lewis Last Inspection 159, I sent him to clean your kit, sir, being that Thomas your batman isn't available.
1994 Rolling Stone 2 June 20/1 Being that I had been out since I was 17, nothing has changed.
2003 ‘Zane’ Nervous xvii. 100 She also needs to improve her computer science grade and being that you're a programmer, I would think you could help her out with that.
Also "being as" or "being as how."
The sentence, as constructed, is considered to be poor usage. In fact, it may not even be proper grammar. The correct grammar would be "the most important of which is that". Because the 1st clause of the sentence uses a present non-continuous tense, so the 2nd clause must use a present non-continuous tense. It is grammatically incorrect to switch tenses within a sentence.