> 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?
A sentence has to have a predicate verb. In that sentence, "would have gone" is the predicate.