are being exceeded

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "are being exceeded" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts where you want to indicate that certain limits or expectations are currently being surpassed. Example: "The budget constraints are being exceeded due to unforeseen expenses."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

Recruiting goals for these forces are being exceeded.

The New York Times

Meanwhile government registration targets in Bangladesh are being exceeded - running at some 96% apparently.

The Guardian - Opinion

"The big question now is whether their cellular repair mechanisms are being exceeded," which could lead to chronic health problems, including cancer.

Science Magazine

The government recognises Heathrow as the only UK airport where national and European air quality limits are being exceeded.

Wikipedia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

A Conservative spokesman insisted that Powell was scaremongering and said progress was being made in recruitment for secondary schools, while targets were being exceeded in the primary sector.

The Guardian

Vienna's Christoph Cardinal Schönborn has pointed to the list of Christian communities that were severed from the body of the church by the swords of Islamic conquest in the eighth and ninth centuries, and he says this bloody tide is being exceeded in our own time.

Huffington Post

The strongest gust of wind ever measured in England and Wales up to that time - and I doubt whether it's been exceeded since - was recorded by instruments on the summit of Great Dun Fell, Cumbria, on my birthday, January 15, 35 years ago - 1968.

The Guardian

In order to determine when these levels are being approached or exceeded, monitoring programs have to be developed which can reliably document environmental variation over time.

Plosone

When stimuli are being processed which exceed the limit of working memory, the hippocampus may be engaged to encode stimuli in LTM (Jeneson and Squire 2012).

Cerebral Cortex

"Trying to Tame Speed Demons" [Opinion, March 11] notes with dismay that Long Island's speed limits are being extensively and consistently exceeded, and by more than a modest amount!

The New York Times

How close the LCF was to being exceeded, Decc was unable to say today.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "are being exceeded" in contexts where a limit, target, or expectation is currently being surpassed, especially due to ongoing circumstances or actions.

Common error

Avoid using the active voice when the passive voice is more appropriate. "Exceeding the limits" places emphasis on the action rather than the limits themselves; use "limits are being exceeded" to focus on the limits.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "are being exceeded" functions as the predicate of a passive construction, indicating that a specified limit, threshold, or expectation is currently in the process of being surpassed. Ludwig AI confirms its correct usage.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

41%

Wiki

8%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Academia

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "are being exceeded" is a grammatically sound passive construction used to indicate that a limit, target, or expectation is currently being surpassed. As confirmed by Ludwig, its primary function is to convey an ongoing state of exceeding boundaries. While found across various contexts, it appears most frequently in news and scientific publications. When writing, ensure the passive voice appropriately emphasizes the limits or expectations rather than the actors surpassing them. Alternatives like "are surpassed" or "are overstepped" offer similar meanings with slight nuances.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

are surpassed

Simple substitution of "being exceeded" with a direct passive form.

are overstepped

Replaces "exceeded" with a synonym that implies crossing a boundary.

are overshot

Similar to "overstepped" but carries a sense of missing a target.

are overtaken

Implies surpassing in a competitive or progressive context.

are transcended

Suggests exceeding in a more profound or significant way.

are outstripped

Formal synonym for exceeding, suggesting going beyond in achievement or performance.

are outdone

Suggests surpassing in terms of accomplishment or quality.

are superseded

Implies replacement due to surpassing in usefulness or relevance.

are climbed over

Uses a different figure of speech to convey surpassing a barrier or limit.

are improved on

Suggests surpassing a previous state or standard through enhancement.

FAQs

How do I use "are being exceeded" in a sentence?

Use "are being exceeded" to indicate that certain limits, targets, or expectations are currently being surpassed. For example: "The budget constraints "are being exceeded" due to unforeseen expenses".

What are some alternatives to "are being exceeded"?

You can use alternatives like "are surpassed", "are overstepped", or "are outstripped" depending on the context.

Is it better to say "are being exceeded" or "are exceeded"?

"Are being exceeded" implies an ongoing process of surpassing a limit, while "are exceeded" is a simple passive form. Choose the option that best reflects the intended meaning.

What's the difference between "are being exceeded" and "have been exceeded"?

"Are being exceeded" indicates that the exceeding is happening now, while "have been exceeded" implies that the exceeding happened at some point in the past and may or may not be ongoing.