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.
1
asked Jan 22 '15 at 9:54
-
@CopperKettle is spot-on, the only thing I would like to add to it is, "attached" is a 'verb' and an 'adjective' in the sentence under question, that is why it is a participle. A participle is a special case where a verb is used as an adjective and the verb "attached " is used as an adjective here. – NANDAGOPAL Jan 22 '15 at 10:35
-
+ interesting post by Jowhn Lawler on "adjectives vs. participles" – CowperKettle Jan 22 '15 at 13:29
-
+ Wikipedia on 'stative passives' – CowperKettle Jan 22 '15 at 13:31
-
A related question: "This is allowed" - is this passive voice? – CowperKettle Jan 22 '15 at 14:51
1
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).
-
1
-
Thank you Khan for replying...but mostly I have seen that an adjectives use before noun, here in this sentence it has been used after noun that is why I was in confusion, so apart from is there any place where adjective can be used. (Like after noun, before noun, etc...). IF it is there I request you to let me know. Also please let me know is the correct or not? Please print the attached two forms in this email. – Charmi Sapariya Jan 22 '15 at 12:53
-
@CharmiSapariya "Please print the two attached forms": the word two is a determiner, and we put it first, next come adjectives like attached. – CowperKettle Jan 22 '15 at 14:10
-
"both......or?" How about "either....or?" (or "both....and" if you mean it's simultaneously an adjective and a verb.) – Brian Hitchcock Jan 23 '15 at 10:15
-
@brian Hitchcock, both means not only ...but also ..(Oxford). Either ...or..is a good alternative. – Khan Jan 24 '15 at 6:56
1
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.
answered Jan 22 '15 at 10:03
-
Thank you CopperKettle... Regarding Adverbs and Adjectives usage, you mean to say jointly we cannot use Adverb and Adjective in Passive voice or something different. – Charmi Sapariya Jan 22 '15 at 10:38
-
@CharmiSapariya - you're welcome! We can use an adverb to modify an adjective (very attached) but in our case the word attached is not an adjective: it's a past participle. You cannot use an adverb to modify a past participle. "These newspapers are (very) sold" would sound strange with very included, for example. (0: – CowperKettle Jan 22 '15 at 10:45
