IMPORTANT
*Past participles have a passive sense. The described noun should have received the result of the transitive. Transitive verbs work well, as past participles.
Example: printed paper = paper which has been / was printed.
*Intransitive verbs do not have passive voice. They, therefore, serve less as past participles.
Example: dead person = person who died.
WHAT IS PARSING?
Parsing = dividing a sentence into parts and describing the grammar of each word or part.
Question:
"He was defeated."
"He was a defeated person."
How should we parse the word 'defeated' in these two sentences?
Ans: What type of person was he? - 'A defeated person'. Here the word defeated is a past participle.
Should we take the phrase "was defeated" as one verb? (was- supporting verb, defeated- main verb). We can do this.
Alternative: The suporting verbs 'is' and 'was' have the value of 'be', 'been', 'being'. They indicate existence of somebody or something (Sanskrit: 'bhavati' = exist; 'asti' = is.) Now, what is the condition of the existence of 'he'? Ans: 'defeated condition/state'. Hence we can take a view that 'defeated' has a double role of being main verb as well as the adjective.
We can see this clearly, while using a natural adjective like 'strong'.
He is strong. (Here 'strong' is not a verbal adjective i.e. participle. It is a straight adjective-word.)
Summary: We have many choices. 1) Use natural adjectives, if we have vocabulary. 2) Use a present participle, where the action is continuing. 3) Use a past participle where the action is complete and the noun is the receiver of the action. 4) Use adjective phrases i.e. use phrases as adjectives. 5) Use adjective clauses i.e. use clauses as adjectives.
Using phrases and clauses, makes sentences, clumsy and lengthy, because we use more words. But, sometimes, we cannot avoid, because the listener's/reader's passive vocabulary may be limited.
Example: We cannot say to a five year old child: "You are a procrasting person". The child may have a vocabulary of about 500 words only. We have to rewrite the sentence to bring it within the child's vocabulary.
Literary masters like Dr. Samuel Johnson, Milton, Shakespeare have used every possible method and technique in describing the subjects and objects of their discourse.
We have, a need to write crisply, in these days. Hence, we may have to follow simple sentence structures like SV (Subject-Verb), SVO (Subject-verb-object), SVPO (Subject-verb-preposition-pObject).
Now, the quiz part:-
CHOICE BOX
1 Edged
2 threatened
3 confessed
4 uttered
5 bandaged
6 entangled
7 enraged
8 enlightened
9 endeared
10 gained
QUESTION BOX
Sentences 1 to 4 use attributive adjectives. Sentences 5 and 6 use complementary adjectives. Sentences 7 and 8 have annexed adjectives (adjective following its noun). Sentences 9 and 10 employ attributive adjectives.
1 An ___ed orphan loves its mentor.
2 An ___ed urban transport policy cannot ignore the pedestrians.
3 An ___ed wife can kick her husband; or vice versa.
4 An ___ed fish has to die.
5 She wants to kiss; but her lips are ___ed.
6 The law pays little regard to words rashly ____.
7 A fault ____ed is half redressed.
8 A penny saved is a penny ___ed.
9 A ____ed blow is seldom given.
10 Children and fools must not play with ___ed tools.
SUGGESTED ANSWERS:1- endeared ,2- enlightened,3- enraged, 4- entangled, 5- bandaged, 6- uttered, 7- confessed, 8- gained, 9- threatened, 10- edged.
ONE THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTION
Will we be/ Are we- in active state or passive state, when we exist? We may believe that we are in passive state, if we construe that God has placed us on this Earth in a living state.
Another view: The act of our being born, may not be an act of our choice. The act of choosing to continue to exist (live?) is an active decision, because we can, if we have the courage (and need?) to exercise the option of choosing to die. We can live in real 'active voice', if we imbibe some atheist thinking.
I shall not impose these ideas, anyway. I place these, just for your info.
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