Is present/past participle adjective? verb?

Question

1) He is running (progressive)2) The door is closed (passive)1) and 2) are progressive sentence and passive sentence, respectively.I think that the word 'Running' in 1) is a present participle and the world 'closed' in 2) is a past participle.In the two sentences, a present and a past participle are adjective? If not, they are verb?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

HoonyI think that the word 'running' in 1) is a present participle and the ~~world~~ word 'closed' in 2) is a past participle.

Correct.

In 1) 'is running' is the verb phrase. It consists of an auxiliary verb and a present participle. This combination is called the present continuous tense (or the present progressive).

In 2) 'is' is a linking verb, and the past participle 'closed' serves as an adjective which tells us the state of the door. That means the sentence is 'stative', not 'passive'.

More words are needed to make 2) truly passive:

The door is closed at 5 pm every day before we leave the office.

Now we are sure that there is an action. Someone closes the door at 5 every day. Just 'The door is closed' makes no claim that anybody is doing anything. The door is just there, doing nothing, not moving. How does it look? It's closed. It's not open.

CJ

Is present/past participle adjective? verb?

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