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We can have some adjectives standing after "lie".

For example, "he is lying awake on the bed" and "the dog is lying dead on the floor"

Now, "to pass out" means "to become unconscious".

So, "He passed out" means "he was unconscious".

I think my sentence is ok, if I say "he lying unconscious on the floor".

But. now, I don't want to use the adjective "unconscious". I want to use the verb "to pass out".

Is "he lying passing out on the floor" more or less equivalent to "he lying unconscious on the floor"?

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  • As a general rule, do not have 2 words in a row that have "ing" at the end.
    – jim
    Commented May 22, 2022 at 14:56

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The thing that seems wrong to me about this is the verb 'passing'. To 'pass out' means to slip into unconsciousness. It can mean to faint. That happens in a moment. If he's already on the floor, it's an event in the past. He's passed out.

You could say:

  • He is lying passed out on the floor.
  • He is passed out on the floor.
  • He is on the floor, passed out.
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I would say, "He is lying passed out on the floor,"or just, "He's passed out on the floor."

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    Is "he is passed out on the floor" valid as "passed here is an adjective"? Because in the dictionary, one example says "He drank until he passed out." and "passed" here is a verb.
    – Tom
    Commented May 18, 2022 at 3:01
  • I would describe"passed out" as an idiom meaning "unconscious" in the phrase, "He is passed out." But when you say, "He passed out," you're saying he went unconscious.
    – Charles B. Cameron
    Commented May 18, 2022 at 3:17
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    'He is lying passing out' would mean that he is in the act of becoming unconscious at this moment, which is presumably not what you mean.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented May 18, 2022 at 7:59

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