57
votes
Accepted
Why is it "crouching tiger hidden dragon" but not "crouching tiger hiding dragon"?
Something that is hiding is taking some deliberate action to hide. Something that is hidden is just not in view (literally or figuratively), possibly due to outside factors.
The book/film title ...
23
votes
In the sentence "The table was set for lunch" is "set" a verb or an adjective?
As is, there is not enough information to be able to tell, definitively.
i.e. The answer depends on the context in which the sentence appears.
If, for example, it were to be preceded by "I looked ...
15
votes
Accepted
Words to describe the situation in which my diary book has a few fresh pages left
Instead of "fresh pages" you should use "blank pages". Then you could write:
My diary (book) only has a few blank pages left. I will need to start a new one soon.
or
My diary (book) is almost ...
15
votes
Accepted
The ambiguous "he is buried"
There is no ambiguity.
In a present-tense narrative, it could be passive "He marries, he dies, he is buried" but in any other context, it is adjectival.
He is buried
is a copular sentence, where ...
11
votes
Accepted
Grammaticality of "a list is added an Item"?
No, it's not right.
The verb add does not take an indirect object the way give does.
You can give a person a present.
You cannot add ✳a list an item.
That's because give is a ditransitive verb (one ...
10
votes
Accepted
It's broken or it has been broken
When I say something is broken, broken is used as an adjective. I'm describing the state of the thing and I'm not interested in the action that led to this state. For all I know it could have got ...
9
votes
In the sentence "The table was set for lunch" is "set" a verb or an adjective?
A verb, a past participle and a passive construction seem to be a reasonable analysis.
As a participle, we could ask for the active form and would get "Someone set the table for lunch." ...
7
votes
How should I make a (double-)negative sentence using "could have + past participle"?
1: I could have not answered this question, but...
Both OP's example and mine are completely grammatical, but it's worth pointing out that even native speakers (especially when not paying close ...
7
votes
Words to describe the situation in which my diary book has a few fresh pages left
Correcting what you were trying to say in your question, I would say:
My diary is almost used up.
But these sound slightly clearer:
My diary is almost full.
My diary is almost finished
7
votes
Accepted
'Close group' Vs 'Closed group'
The "closed" in closed group does not mean "intimate".
It means "not public". It's opposite to the "open" in "open forum", a forum where everybody can ...
7
votes
Accepted
'miss call' or 'missed call' when it is 'yet to be missed!'
The common term is
missed call
Since the type of call is intentionally not to be answered (usually the caller will hang up after a ring of two) and it will show up as "missed" on the recipients ...
7
votes
Why is it "crouching tiger hidden dragon" but not "crouching tiger hiding dragon"?
Yeah, basically, what TypelA said in their answer.
But then there is also the issue of grammar, I think. In "crouching tiger hidden dragon", both "crouching" and "hidden" ...
7
votes
In the sentence "The table was set for lunch" is "set" a verb or an adjective?
Let's set the table for dinner. [i.e. put out forks, knives, spoons, glasses, plates, etc.]
[A Mother says] I usually set the table for dinner but sometimes my kids do. It is set by them.
[To father;] ...
6
votes
Was Married or Had Married?
No, neither A) nor B) is correct. For one thing, "taken divorce" is an improperly formed past perfect. For another, one does not say "take" divorce (in AmE — I don't know whether they say that in BrE)....
6
votes
Is the use of a verb as an adjective in 'scheduled date' acceptable?
This is an acceptable use.
Scheduled in this context is the past participle form of the verb schedule. Participles have that name because they may "participate" in two different word classes ...
6
votes
Accepted
How should I make a (double-)negative sentence using "could have + past participle"?
Consider this potentially tricky dialogue:
“I went to the picnic yesterday.”
“You didn’t! How could you have done that? You really shouldn’t’ve!”
“What do you mean by shouldn’t’ve?”
“I mean you ...
6
votes
'Close group' Vs 'Closed group'
In Facebook, a "closed group" is a group that is closed to members who are not specifically allowed in by a group administrator. See this explanation from the Facebook help pages. The term is a bit ...
6
votes
what does it mean by "used to" in the context below?
This is easy to understand when explained simply:
to be used to + verb with ing (gerund: living):
We are used to living = We are accustomed to living
VERSUS
Subject + used to + verb without ing (...
6
votes
Accepted
I was chose or I was chosen?
I was chosen is correct. The passive voice always takes the past participle form of the verb, not the simple past. So, I chose, I was chosen.
With most verbs (all the regular ones, and many of the ...
6
votes
Why is it "crouching tiger hidden dragon" but not "crouching tiger hiding dragon"?
The reason it is not "Crouched Tiger Hidden Dragon" is already included in TypeIA's answer. Unlike the dragon, the tiger is taking a deliberate action to crouch. There is a tiger that is ...
5
votes
People who make me feel bore/bored
First of all, your first sentence is wrong because the noun "people" needs a verb in the plural.
eg.People are always coming and going in that house.
Secondly, "bored" is the correct answer, since ...
5
votes
A confusing sentence with Past participle
SUPPLEMENTAL BACKGROUND:
The answers by Rathony and avid19 are excellent explanations of how you should understand this. I'd just like to add an explanation of why we use given this way.
Given is ...
5
votes
'Something is arrived' - is this use of a participle as an adjective acceptable?
BE arriving is grammatical: the progressive construction.
BE arrived was at one time grammatical.
Through Early Modern English, most verbs of motion (come, go, arrive, depart, move, and so forth) ...
5
votes
Beauty risen or beauty rose- which one is correct?
Beauty risen from the darker side of the moon is a sentence fragment, but sentence fragments are common in poetry, so if it's what you really want, it's fine. An online grammar checker is generally ...
5
votes
Accepted
Past participle vs being+past participle
tl;dr
The two participle clauses you cite are in the passive voice, and being puts them in the present continuous tense. They are continuous passive participle clauses.
Compare:
Continuous ...
5
votes
Which of the two words sounds more natural and common to native speakers? “Though merging/merged...”
Merged and merging mean something different.
In your sentence they are used as participles- one present participle the other Perfect participle.
Merging would mean in your sentence that they are ...
5
votes
Difference between did and does
Yes, the reasoning is correct.
In asking whether Mr. ABC replies to your messages,
Does Mr. ABC reply to your messages?
asks whether Mr. ABC will reply to messages based on past experience. This ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
past-participles × 348adjectives × 41
passive-voice × 38
past-tense × 37
present-participles × 36
grammar × 30
verbs × 18
participles × 16
tense × 15
present-perfect × 15
sentence-construction × 13
gerunds × 12
grammaticality × 11
participle-clauses × 11
word-usage × 9
past-perfect × 9
word-choice × 8
infinitives × 8
modal-verbs × 7
past-simple × 7
verb-forms × 7
participial-adjectives × 7
meaning × 6
meaning-in-context × 6
difference × 6