"Deleted" - adjective or verb?
In drafting technical documents, if a note on the drawing is deleted, it is required to be replaced with a grammatically correct sentence stating that the note was deleted.
We're having a debate at work - one camp thinks the phase "Note deleted." is grammatically correct, while another group thinks "Note has been deleted." is more grammatically correct. Both come up as correct when used in a MS Word grammar check, but I tend to think that the first example represents Noun-Adjective, while the second example represents Noun-Verb phrase, and is therefore more correct. Which of these sentences is actually more correct?
Top answer
For brevity, I suppose most people would use the reduced clause "note deleted" as an unambiguous alternant for "this note has been deleted". Some useful tests for determining adjectivehood: (1) Can "deleted" be modified by "very"? --- no it can't.
- For brevity, I suppose most people would use the reduced clause "note deleted" as an unambiguous alternant for "this note has been deleted".
- Some useful tests for determining adjectivehood: (1) Can "deleted" be modified by "very"?
- --- no it can't.
- (2) Can "has been" be replaced with "seem"?
- --- no it can't.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
For brevity, I suppose most people would use the reduced clause "note deleted" as an unambiguous alternant for "this note has been deleted".
Some useful tests for determining adjectivehood:
(1) Can "deleted" be modified by "very"? --- no it can't.
(2) Can "has been" be replaced with "seem"? --- no it can't.
(3) Is a passive by phrase impossible? --- No, it i
0For correct grammar, you need a determiner, eg This note has been deleted.
0
Related Questions