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More Grammar for WTM diagramming questions Wk 18


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Hello boardie grammarians! I am in need of your help again!

 

 

This sentence:  Lighting by means of gas was yet unknown.

 

They diagrammed "was unknown" on the verb line in the predicate. My thought was that "was" is a linking verb and "unknown" was the predicate adjective.

 

 

This sentence:  Even kerosene, which makes so poor a light, was then unused.

 

Again, they diagrammed "was unused" on the verb line in the predicate. My thought was that "was" is a linking verb and "unused" was the predicate adjective.

 

 

 

Since I had the same thought for both, clearly I am missing something.  

 

Help?

 

Edited to add italics

Edited by cintinative
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That’s a good question.

 

I would say those are verbs rather than predicate adjectives. Those words are suggesting action, not description. Especially the second one. It helps that they are modified by the adverbs “yet†and “thenâ€, respectively.

Edited by Penelope
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That’s a good question.

 

I would say those are verbs rather than predicate adjectives. Those words are suggesting action, not description. Especially the second one. It helps that they are modified by the adverbs “yet†and “thenâ€, respectively.

 

 

I see what you mean, so then the "was" would be a helping verb.

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  • 1 month later...
On 2/21/2018 at 11:07 AM, cintinative said:

This sentence:  Lighting by means of gas was yet unknown.

 

They diagrammed "was unknown" on the verb line in the predicate. My thought was that "was" is a linking verb and "unknown" was the predicate adjective.

 

 

This sentence:  Even kerosene, which makes so poor a light, was then unused.

 

Again, they diagrammed "was unused" on the verb line in the predicate. My thought was that "was" is a linking verb and "unused" was the predicate adjective.


Hm. It seems like the text is thinking of "was unknown" and "was unused" as verb phrases if they're diagrammed on the verb line. That would make sense if they were passive verbs. Then the question is.... Are they passive verbs?  I'd say no.

I always do a double take when diagramming passive verbs... Some of them seem like they could be diagrammed either as a verb phrase or as a verb + predicate adjective. I wonder if the trick in deciding which way to go (verb phrase or PredAdj)  is to look at the second word and determine if it could actually be used as a verb....

So, for example, could one ever have a sentence in which the verb was "unknown" or "unused"?  "He unknown lighting by means of gas"? Obviously not. But, could those words _ever_ be used as verbs?  I can't think of any case in which they could be verbs. So, can they form a verb phrase? Doesn't a verb phrase consist of a helping verb/s + a main verb

Therefore, I would conclude that both "unknown" and "unused" are predicate adjectives in those sentences.


Can you email customer service and ask? And then post here to let us know what their reasoning is either way? 

 

 

ETA: So here's an example where I would say there's a passive verb phrase:  "The dog was abandoned by the side of the road."  One could use "abandoned" as a main verb: "He abandoned the dog by the side of the road."  So, because "abandon" can be used as a main verb, I'd say it could also be used as a verb in the passive voice. "Unknown" and "unused" could not be used as a main verb, I'm pretty sure.

 

ETA2: Sorry! Didn't realize this post was so old!! But I'd still love to know the author's reasoning.

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Yvonne, this is how they replied:

 

Generally, "unused" is considered an adjective when it's in the attribute position. "Was unused" is most often considered a passive verb form. However, it would not be incorrect to label it as a predicate adjective, since "unused" CAN function as an adjective form.
 
The same is true for "unknown." Both are an ambiguous use.
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8 hours ago, yvonne said:

Thanks for posting their response!

wish there were still an “Ask Susan” thread here. I wonder if she’d say the same thing. 

There was one question where Justin did consult with Susan on it. It had to do with an error in exercise 64.  =)

The diagrams in 64B are correct.

The answers in 64A are incorrect. "Consuming the town and the castle" modifies "flame," and "finding him" modifies "made."

I thought about starting a thread with corrections. I have all my emails and responses in a folder. Some of the corrections are posted on the WTM website and some are not there yet.

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