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If I say "The shop will be closed tomorrow", is the word 'closed' here an adjective or a verb?

alpha
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2 Answers2

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Don'cha just love English grammar and usage Alpha? This is one of those cases where the word could be either, depending on what information you're trying to convey.

If you mean the shop is not open tomorrow then "will be closed " is an adjective, though it's more direct to say "The shop is closed tomorrow."

However, if you meant (rather unlikely) that the shop is going bankrupt and closing tomorrow, never to reopen, then "will be closed" is a verb in the future passive voice. The shop will be closed tomorrow and then we're going down to the pub and get snockered.

Rick Rorapaugh
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    +1 Very nicely summarised. I must say though, I've never heard "snockered" before! – Dog Lover Jul 25 '17 at 12:59
  • @Rick Rorapaugh I love the English grammar although it does drive me mad sometimes. :P So like the passive of "The government will close the shop" is "The shop will be closed by the government" - in this case 'closed' is a verb, and not an adjective? – alpha Jul 25 '17 at 15:40
  • I'm guessing that some grammarians would view neither usage of 'closed' as being that of an adjective. But this has been covered before on ELU: The window was broken. / We noticed that the window was broken. / The window was broken by the hail. – Edwin Ashworth Jul 31 '17 at 16:03
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In the usual meaning of the phrase, it's an adjective.

It could be a verb in somewhat unusual circumstances eg "The proprietor has been having a legal battle with the landlord, but he's exhausted all remedies and is giving up: the shop will be closed tomorrow" - meaning that he will close it down forever. But people are unlikely to say this, partly because of the more common meaning - they'd probably say "The shop is closing down tomorrow.

Colin Fine
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