diff --git a/src/buffer.hh b/src/buffer.hh
index 979ae03f..5092b7e9 100644
--- a/src/buffer.hh
+++ b/src/buffer.hh
@@ -62,8 +62,6 @@ public:
     BufferIterator& operator=(const BufferCoord& coord);
     operator const BufferCoord&() const { return m_coord; }
 
-    bool is_begin() const;
-    bool is_end() const;
     bool is_valid() const;
 
     const Buffer& buffer() const;
diff --git a/src/buffer_iterator.inl.hh b/src/buffer_iterator.inl.hh
index 6afc4342..86d906ac 100644
--- a/src/buffer_iterator.inl.hh
+++ b/src/buffer_iterator.inl.hh
@@ -127,17 +127,5 @@ inline BufferIterator& BufferIterator::operator=(const BufferCoord& coord)
     return *this;
 }
 
-inline bool BufferIterator::is_begin() const
-{
-    kak_assert(m_buffer);
-    return m_coord.line == 0 and m_coord.column == 0;
-}
-
-inline bool BufferIterator::is_end() const
-{
-    kak_assert(m_buffer);
-    return m_buffer->is_end(m_coord);
-}
-
 }
 #endif // buffer_iterator_inl_h_INCLUDED
diff --git a/src/filters.cc b/src/filters.cc
index c986b959..27447951 100644
--- a/src/filters.cc
+++ b/src/filters.cc
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ void preserve_indent(Buffer& buffer, Selection& selection, String& content)
         BufferCoord line_begin{selection.last().line, 0};
         auto first_non_white = buffer.iterator_at(line_begin);
         while ((*first_non_white == '\t' or *first_non_white == ' ') and
-               not first_non_white.is_end())
+               first_non_white != buffer.end())
             ++first_non_white;
 
         content += buffer.string(line_begin, first_non_white);
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ void preserve_indent(Buffer& buffer, Selection& selection, String& content)
 void cleanup_whitespaces(Buffer& buffer, Selection& selection, String& content)
 {
     const auto position = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
-    if (content[0] == '\n' and not position.is_begin())
+    if (content[0] == '\n' and position != buffer.begin())
     {
         auto whitespace_start = position-1;
         while ((*whitespace_start == ' ' or *whitespace_start == '\t') and
-               not whitespace_start .is_begin())
+               whitespace_start != buffer.begin())
             --whitespace_start;
         ++whitespace_start;
         if (whitespace_start != position)
diff --git a/src/input_handler.cc b/src/input_handler.cc
index fd2be75c..956ca959 100644
--- a/src/input_handler.cc
+++ b/src/input_handler.cc
@@ -501,12 +501,12 @@ static BufferCompletion complete_word(const Buffer& buffer,
                                       bool other_buffers)
 {
    auto pos = buffer.iterator_at(cursor_pos);
-   if (pos.is_begin() or not is_word(*utf8::previous(pos)))
+   if (pos == buffer.begin() or not is_word(*utf8::previous(pos)))
        return {};
 
     auto end = buffer.iterator_at(cursor_pos);
     auto begin = end-1;
-    while (not begin.is_begin() and is_word(*begin))
+    while (begin != buffer.begin() and is_word(*begin))
         --begin;
     if (not is_word(*begin))
         ++begin;
diff --git a/src/selectors.cc b/src/selectors.cc
index c9629e8b..59891df9 100644
--- a/src/selectors.cc
+++ b/src/selectors.cc
@@ -53,23 +53,17 @@ CharCategories categorize(Codepoint c)
                                : CharCategories::Punctuation;
 }
 
-bool is_begin(const BufferIterator& it) { return it.is_begin(); }
-bool is_end(const BufferIterator& it) { return it.is_end(); }
-
-bool is_begin(const Utf8Iterator& it) { return it.underlying_iterator().is_begin(); }
-bool is_end(const Utf8Iterator& it) { return it.underlying_iterator().is_end(); }
-
-template<typename Iterator, typename T>
-void skip_while(Iterator& it, T condition)
+template<typename Iterator, typename EndIterator, typename T>
+void skip_while(Iterator& it, const EndIterator& end, T condition)
 {
-    while (not is_end(it) and condition(*it))
+    while (it != end and condition(*it))
         ++it;
 }
 
-template<typename Iterator, typename T>
-void skip_while_reverse(Iterator& it, T condition)
+template<typename Iterator, typename BeginIterator, typename T>
+void skip_while_reverse(Iterator& it, const BeginIterator& begin, T condition)
 {
-    while (not is_begin(it) and condition(*it))
+    while (it != begin and condition(*it))
         --it;
 }
 
@@ -86,23 +80,23 @@ template<bool punctuation_is_word>
 Selection select_to_next_word(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 {
     Utf8Iterator begin = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
-    if (is_end(begin+1))
+    if (begin+1 == buffer.end())
         return selection;
     if (categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*begin) !=
         categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*(begin+1)))
         ++begin;
 
-    skip_while(begin, is_eol);
-    if (is_end(begin))
+    skip_while(begin, buffer.end(), is_eol);
+    if (begin == buffer.end())
         return selection;
     Utf8Iterator end = begin+1;
 
     if (not punctuation_is_word and is_punctuation(*begin))
-        skip_while(end, is_punctuation);
+        skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_punctuation);
     else if (is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*begin))
-        skip_while(end, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+        skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
 
-    skip_while(end, is_blank);
+    skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_blank);
 
     return utf8_range(begin, end-1);
 }
@@ -113,22 +107,22 @@ template<bool punctuation_is_word>
 Selection select_to_next_word_end(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 {
     Utf8Iterator begin = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
-    if (is_end(begin+1))
+    if (begin+1 == buffer.end())
         return selection;
     if (categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*begin) !=
         categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*(begin+1)))
         ++begin;
 
-    skip_while(begin, is_eol);
-    if (is_end(begin))
+    skip_while(begin, buffer.end(), is_eol);
+    if (begin == buffer.end())
         return selection;
     Utf8Iterator end = begin;
-    skip_while(end, is_blank);
+    skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_blank);
 
     if (not punctuation_is_word and is_punctuation(*end))
-        skip_while(end, is_punctuation);
+        skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_punctuation);
     else if (is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*end))
-        skip_while(end, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+        skip_while(end, buffer.end(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
 
     return utf8_range(begin, end-1);
 }
@@ -139,25 +133,25 @@ template<bool punctuation_is_word>
 Selection select_to_previous_word(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 {
     Utf8Iterator begin = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
-    if (is_end(begin+1))
+    if (begin+1 == buffer.end())
         return selection;
     if (categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*begin) !=
         categorize<punctuation_is_word>(*(begin-1)))
         --begin;
 
-    skip_while_reverse(begin, is_eol);
+    skip_while_reverse(begin, buffer.begin(), is_eol);
     Utf8Iterator end = begin;
-    skip_while_reverse(end, is_blank);
+    skip_while_reverse(end, buffer.begin(), is_blank);
 
     bool with_end = false;
     if (not punctuation_is_word and is_punctuation(*end))
     {
-        skip_while_reverse(end, is_punctuation);
+        skip_while_reverse(end, buffer.begin(), is_punctuation);
         with_end = is_punctuation(*end);
     }
     else if (is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*end))
     {
-        skip_while_reverse(end, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+        skip_while_reverse(end, buffer.begin(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
         with_end = is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*end);
     }
 
@@ -169,14 +163,14 @@ template Selection select_to_previous_word<true>(const Buffer&, const Selection&
 Selection select_line(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 {
     Utf8Iterator first = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
-    if (*first == '\n' and not is_end(first + 1))
+    if (*first == '\n' and first + 1 != buffer.end())
         ++first;
 
-    while (not is_begin(first) and *(first - 1) != '\n')
+    while (first != buffer.begin() and *(first - 1) != '\n')
         --first;
 
     Utf8Iterator last = first;
-    while (not is_end(last + 1) and *last != '\n')
+    while (last + 1 != buffer.end() and *last != '\n')
         ++last;
     return utf8_range(first, last);
 }
@@ -203,13 +197,12 @@ Selection select_matching(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
         int level = 0;
         const Codepoint opening = *match;
         const Codepoint closing = *(match+1);
-        while (not is_end(it))
+        while (it != buffer.end())
         {
             if (*it == opening)
                 ++level;
             else if (*it == closing and --level == 0)
                 return utf8_range(begin, it);
-
             ++it;
         }
     }
@@ -224,7 +217,7 @@ Selection select_matching(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
                 ++level;
             else if (*it == opening and --level == 0)
                 return utf8_range(begin, it);
-            if (is_begin(it))
+            if (it == buffer.begin())
                 break;
             --it;
         }
@@ -234,18 +227,20 @@ Selection select_matching(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 
 // c++14 will add std::optional, so we use boost::optional until then
 using boost::optional;
-static optional<Range> find_surrounding(const BufferIterator& pos,
+static optional<Range> find_surrounding(const Buffer& buffer,
+                                        const BufferCoord& coord,
                                         const CodepointPair& matching,
                                         ObjectFlags flags)
 {
     const bool to_begin = flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin;
     const bool to_end   = flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd;
     const bool nestable = matching.first != matching.second;
+    auto pos = buffer.iterator_at(coord);
     Utf8Iterator first = pos;
     if (to_begin)
     {
         int level = 0;
-        while (not is_begin(first))
+        while (first != buffer.begin())
         {
             if (nestable and first != pos and *first == matching.second)
                 ++level;
@@ -267,7 +262,7 @@ static optional<Range> find_surrounding(const BufferIterator& pos,
     {
         int level = 0;
         last = first + 1;
-        while (not is_end(last))
+        while (last != buffer.end())
         {
             if (nestable and *last == matching.first)
                 ++level;
@@ -298,7 +293,7 @@ Selection select_surrounding(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection,
                              const CodepointPair& matching,
                              ObjectFlags flags)
 {
-    auto res = find_surrounding(buffer.iterator_at(selection.last()), matching, flags);
+    auto res = find_surrounding(buffer, selection.last(), matching, flags);
     if (not res)
         return selection;
 
@@ -306,7 +301,7 @@ Selection select_surrounding(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection,
         matching.first != matching.second and not buffer.is_end(res->last()) and
         (*res == selection or Range{res->last(), res->first()} == selection))
     {
-        res = find_surrounding(buffer.iterator_at(res->last()) + 1, matching, flags);
+        res = find_surrounding(buffer, buffer.next(res->last()), matching, flags);
         return res ? Selection{*res} : selection;
     }
     return *res;
@@ -320,8 +315,8 @@ Selection select_to(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection,
     do
     {
         ++end;
-        skip_while(end, [c](Codepoint cur) { return cur != c; });
-        if (is_end(end))
+        skip_while(end, buffer.end(), [c](Codepoint cur) { return cur != c; });
+        if (end == buffer.end())
             return selection;
     }
     while (--count > 0);
@@ -337,8 +332,8 @@ Selection select_to_reverse(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection,
     do
     {
         --end;
-        skip_while_reverse(end, [c](Codepoint cur) { return cur != c; });
-        if (is_begin(end))
+        skip_while_reverse(end, buffer.begin(), [c](Codepoint cur) { return cur != c; });
+        if (end == buffer.begin())
             return selection;
     }
     while (--count > 0);
@@ -350,7 +345,7 @@ Selection select_to_eol(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
 {
     Utf8Iterator begin = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
     Utf8Iterator end = begin + 1;
-    skip_while(end, [](Codepoint cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
+    skip_while(end, buffer.end(), [](Codepoint cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
     return utf8_range(begin, end-1);
 }
 
@@ -358,8 +353,8 @@ Selection select_to_eol_reverse(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection
 {
     Utf8Iterator begin = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
     Utf8Iterator end = begin - 1;
-    skip_while_reverse(end, [](Codepoint cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
-    return utf8_range(begin, is_begin(end) ? end : end+1);
+    skip_while_reverse(end, buffer.begin(), [](Codepoint cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
+    return utf8_range(begin, end == buffer.begin() ? end : end+1);
 }
 
 template<bool punctuation_is_word>
@@ -371,15 +366,15 @@ Selection select_whole_word(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection, Ob
     {
         if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin)
         {
-            skip_while_reverse(first, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+            skip_while_reverse(first, buffer.begin(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
             if (not is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*first))
                 ++first;
         }
         if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd)
         {
-            skip_while(last, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+            skip_while(last, buffer.end(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
             if (not (flags & ObjectFlags::Inner))
-                skip_while(last, is_blank);
+                skip_while(last, buffer.end(), is_blank);
             --last;
         }
     }
@@ -387,16 +382,16 @@ Selection select_whole_word(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection, Ob
     {
         if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin)
         {
-            skip_while_reverse(first, is_blank);
+            skip_while_reverse(first, buffer.begin(), is_blank);
             if (not is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*first))
                 return selection;
-            skip_while_reverse(first, is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
+            skip_while_reverse(first, buffer.begin(), is_word<punctuation_is_word>);
             if (not is_word<punctuation_is_word>(*first))
                 ++first;
         }
         if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd)
         {
-            skip_while(last, is_blank);
+            skip_while(last, buffer.end(), is_blank);
             --last;
         }
     }
@@ -414,7 +409,7 @@ Selection select_whole_sentence(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection
     if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin)
     {
         bool saw_non_blank = false;
-        while (not is_begin(first))
+        while (first != buffer.begin())
         {
             char cur = *first;
             char prev = *(first-1);
@@ -434,22 +429,22 @@ Selection select_whole_sentence(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection
             }
             --first;
         }
-        skip_while(first, is_blank);
+        skip_while(first, buffer.end(), is_blank);
     }
     if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd)
     {
-        while (not is_end(last))
+        while (last != buffer.end())
         {
             char cur = *last;
             if (cur == '.' or cur == ';' or cur == '!' or cur == '?' or
-                (is_eol(cur) and (is_end(last+1) or is_eol(*last+1))))
+                (is_eol(cur) and (last+1 == buffer.end() or is_eol(*(last+1)))))
                 break;
             ++last;
         }
-        if (not (flags & ObjectFlags::Inner) and not is_end(last))
+        if (not (flags & ObjectFlags::Inner) and last != buffer.end())
         {
             ++last;
-            skip_while(last, is_blank);
+            skip_while(last, buffer.end(), is_blank);
             --last;
         }
     }
@@ -462,12 +457,12 @@ Selection select_whole_paragraph(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selectio
     BufferIterator first = buffer.iterator_at(selection.last());
     BufferIterator last = first;
 
-    if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin and not is_begin(first))
+    if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToBegin and first != buffer.begin())
     {
-        skip_while_reverse(first, is_eol);
+        skip_while_reverse(first, buffer.begin(), is_eol);
         if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd)
             last = first;
-        while (not is_begin(first))
+        while (first != buffer.begin())
         {
             char cur = *first;
             char prev = *(first-1);
@@ -481,14 +476,14 @@ Selection select_whole_paragraph(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selectio
     }
     if (flags & ObjectFlags::ToEnd)
     {
-        while (not is_end(last))
+        while (last != buffer.end())
         {
             char cur = *last;
             char prev = *(last-1);
             if (is_eol(cur) and is_eol(prev))
             {
                 if (not (flags & ObjectFlags::Inner))
-                    skip_while(last, is_eol);
+                    skip_while(last, buffer.end(), is_eol);
                 break;
             }
             ++last;
@@ -508,12 +503,12 @@ Selection select_whole_lines(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
     BufferIterator& to_line_end = first <= last ? last : first;
 
     --to_line_start;
-    skip_while_reverse(to_line_start, [](char cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
+    skip_while_reverse(to_line_start, buffer.begin(), [](char cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
     if (is_eol(*to_line_start))
         ++to_line_start;
 
-    skip_while(to_line_end, [](char cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
-    if (is_end(to_line_end))
+    skip_while(to_line_end, buffer.end(), [](char cur) { return not is_eol(cur); });
+    if (to_line_end == buffer.end())
         --to_line_end;
 
     return Selection(first, last);
@@ -527,7 +522,7 @@ Selection trim_partial_lines(const Buffer& buffer, const Selection& selection)
     BufferIterator& to_line_start = first <= last ? first : last;
     BufferIterator& to_line_end = first <= last ? last : first;
 
-    while (not is_begin(to_line_start) and *(to_line_start-1) != '\n')
+    while (to_line_start != buffer.begin() and *(to_line_start-1) != '\n')
         ++to_line_start;
     while (*(to_line_end+1) != '\n' and to_line_end != to_line_start)
         --to_line_end;