Ambiguity in Passive Participles

This paper serves to help learners of English grammar precisely identify the function of the past participle form as an adjective or as a passive verb. Many learners get confused when trying to identify the function of a past participle after a form of verb “be”. To differentiate between the functions of the past participle, some grammarians depend mainly on the context provided, while others apply certain handy tips to comprehend the exact function of it. The study aims to fill a gap about the difference between the two uses of the past participle. The study is qualitative in nature drawing mostly upon books, articles, and websites for data. Through examining some various viewpoints, it becomes clear that a past participle after a copula functioning as an adjective can be intensified by some adverbs such as “very”, and can be used as an attributive adjective in another structure. On the other hand, a past participle as a passive verb has a corresponding active form, can be extended to show the agent using a “by-phrase”, and does not logically accept to be preceded by an intensifier.

Borik, O., & Gehrke, B. (2019). Participles: Form, use and meaning. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 4(1), 109, 1-27. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.1055

Downing, A., & Locke, P. (2002). A university course in English grammar. London: Routledge.

Emery, D. W., Kierzek, J. M., & Lindblom, P. (2003). English fundamentals: Form A (13th ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education, Inc.

IEW Blog Team. (2023, October 19). Identifying the function of past participles. IEW. Retrieved from https://iew.com/support/blog/identifying-functions-past-participles

Mammadova, I. (2024). Understanding the function of past participles in complex sentences. Journal of Azerbaijan Language and Education Studies, 1(1), 1-21. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.69760/jales.2024.00100

Quora. (n.d.). How do I differentiate an adjective with a participle from the passive. Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-differentiate-an-adjective-with-a-participle-from-the-passive-I-was-drenched-or-we-got-drenched

Reddit. (n.d.a). How to know when a participle is an adjective. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/
1exyjj9/how_to_know_when_a_participle_is_an_adjective/

Reddit. (n.d.b). Past participle not functioning as an adjective. Retrieved from https://www.reddit.com/r/grammar/comments/
13zr9hn/past_participle_not_functioning_as_an_adjective/

Ryan, E. (2022, December 3). Past participles and the passive voice. Scribbr. Retrieved from https://www.scribbr.com/verbs/past-participles/

Schönefeld, D. (2015). A constructional analysis of English un-participle constructions. Cognitive Linguistics, 26(3), 423-466. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1515/cog-2014-0017

SlideShare. (n.d.). Passive form or be adjective. Retrieved from https://slideshare.net/slideshow/passive-form-or-be-adjective/236979934

Thomson, A. J. (1969). A practical English grammar (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.