Could you please let me know that the "attached" is a 'verb' or an 'adjective' in the sentence given below.
Please print the two forms attached to this email.
If possible then please give a justification.
English Language Learners Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for speakers of other languages learning English. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityCould you please let me know that the "attached" is a 'verb' or an 'adjective' in the sentence given below.
Please print the two forms attached to this email.
If possible then please give a justification.
Please print the two forms attached to this email.
You can say that the use of "attached" in the sentence can be regarded both as an adjective and a verb.
Please look at the following sentences to know how it's possible:
Please print the two forms which are attached to this email.
Please print the two forms which have been attached to this email.
According to grammar, you can simplify or reduce the defining clause, among others, in the following cases:
If it contains be + adjective phrase (It applies to the sentence #1).
if it contains be + past participle (passive form) (sentence # 2 above).
Please print the two forms attached to this email.
It is a form of a verb called past participle. The sentence contains a reduced relative clause "attached to this email".
The full sentence is either
- Please print the two forms that are attached to this email.
or, as Khan wrote,
- Please print the two forms that have been attached to this email.
In case of (2), attached is clearly a past participle. In case of (1), I'm not sure what it is. According to this post, it's sometimes hard to distinguish.
It could be seen as a passive voice construction, in which case attached will be a past participle:
The forms are attached to this email by me. I attached them. Please print them.
You cannot use the adverbs very and too which you usually can use with adjectives:
Please print the two forms that are very attached to this email. (WRONG: the meaning changes drastically)
Please print the two forms that are too attached to this email. (WRONG: the meaning changes drastically)
On the other hand, we can try substituting are with seem, look, remain, and it seems to work:
Please print the two forms that seem | remain attached to this email. (seems OKAY to me; it's one of the "tests" for adjectival predicative complements; or is it WRONG? Should there be "that seem to be attached?)
We can try adding the negation prefix un:
Please print the two forms that are unattached to this email. (? I'm not sure if this works)
In the end, I'd call it a past participle, a form of a verb, but I'm still not very sure.