[lbo-talk] VERY off-topic: for the English teachers (probably not profs)

Joseph Catron jncatron at gmail.com
Mon Oct 17 11:00:14 PDT 2011


A friend of mine had a squabble with her grammar professor and wants me, as a native English-speaker, to say she's right. The question under dispute:

Is a past participle a verb or an adjective in the passive?

For example, in the statement, "We would have gone if not for the rain," is "gone" a verb, an adjective, or what?

Despite my literature degree, I have no clue. (Truth be told, I had forgotten what a past participle is.) And after a bunch of Googling, I'm no closer to an answer. Any insights?

-- "Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað."



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