He's worried himself sick about his daughter.
In this sentence, Is either He's [He is] or [He has] ?
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You can say He is worried sick but if you're describing a process which has ended in that result, it is as the answers say, He has worried himself sick.– TimRCommented May 1, 2018 at 18:56
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There is a difference between saying He is in this state and He has done things to get himself into this state.– TimRCommented May 1, 2018 at 22:32
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2 Answers
It is He has. This sentence is an example of the present perfect tense. The present perfect is formed with to have (here, He has) and a past participle (here, worried).
You're probably asking "Why can't it be is?" because "He is worried" is also a perfectly good sentence. The answer is that if it were is, then "worried himself sick" doesn't make sense, so it must be has.
The answer can only be "He has". "He is worried himself sick about his daughter" is ungrammatical and makes no sense. To worry oneself sick means to become ill through worry.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/%E2%80%94_oneself_sick
answered May 1, 2018 at 18:00
