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Now, your balloon was broken a few minutes ago.

do we say "the balloon is popped" or "the balloon has been popped" or "the balloon was popped" according to the time that we utter it?

For example,

A few minutes later?

A few days later?

A few months later?

A few years later?

2
  • Unless someone pops it with a pin, we usually say "the balloon popped." Nov 21, 2020 at 8:27
  • I would say "The balloon burst" (or "has [been] burst" if it had only just happened). Nov 21, 2020 at 9:25

1 Answer 1

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If the balloon popped by itself, then:

the balloon popped.
the balloon (has) burst.

If the balloon was actively popped by a person:

Derek popped the balloon.
The balloon was popped.
The balloon has been popped.

The following does not look like common usage, since popped and burst are more often used as verbs than as adjectives:

the balloon is popped *

If you prefer an adjective, then ripped, ruptured, broken. Or maybe a "popped balloon" (an attributive adjective).

What about - A few minutes later? A few days later? A few months later? A few years later?

If it just happened a second ago, then you could say:

The balloon just popped.
The balloon popped.

If it happened a few minutes or hours ago:

The balloon popped.
The balloon was popped.
The balloon has been popped.

If it happened a year ago:

This looks like a popped/broken balloon.

2
  • How do we know the past participles of which verbs are not often used as adjectives to express states?
    – Tom
    Nov 22, 2020 at 1:30
  • 1
    @Tom I don't know a shortcut other than "massive input" of the target language being studied.
    – Sam
    Nov 22, 2020 at 1:51

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