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How does one distinguish as to when a past participle is used verbially in passive voice or as adjective with verb 'to be' when the doer of the action(agent"by")is not given ? In many sentences it can be understood to be used either way Example-The flight was cancelled/delayed ('Cancelled'/delayed) can be interpreted to be used either way based on one's interpretation.

Sanjay
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  • Does this answer your question? verb or adjective in "The blue page is *stapled* to the red page"? 'The front window was broken.' is well known to be inherently ambiguous. << Sometimes, it is far easier than this to distinguish adjectival and verbal usages of -ed forms:

    'On arriving back home, we saw that the front window was broken.' [adj] BUT

    'The front window was broken by the ball Gayle hit over the main stand.' [verb] >> Only context can disambiguate here.

     – Edwin Ashworth Apr 29 '20 at 13:10
  • They are still verbs even if there is no by phrase. Your examples denote an action, not a state, thus they cannot be adjectives. – BillJ Apr 29 '20 at 13:32
  • You need context. Sometimes tense helps you frame it. The airlines cancelled the flight. (active) The flight was cancelled [by the airlines]. (passive) Now it is a cancelled flight. (adj) The flight is cancelled. (adj) – Tinfoil Hat Apr 29 '20 at 15:33
  • Dear Edwin, Bill and Tinfoil, Thanks for responding. The line between action and state appears blurred many a times and I don't find a definitive differentiator. – Sanjay Apr 30 '20 at 06:13
  • Dear Bill, How will you interpret the sentence "The door is locked/closed.It could be the state of the door and it could be locked/closed by someone .Thanks – Sanjay Apr 30 '20 at 18:12
  • Dear Edwin, Do we have to live with this ambiguity as sought in my example? Even at times context doesn't make the distinction clear. Thanks – Sanjay May 02 '20 at 08:17

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