locked in

Question

Hello! Anyone out there? I'm locked in!Is 'locked in' above an adjective? I don't think it is a passive verb in this context. Probably, in the following context, it's used as a passive verb:Alex: Mary, are you coming? We have been waiting for you 15 minutes now.Mary: I'm sorry that I forgot to call. I'm grounded. Alex: What?Mary: I'm locked in by my mother!Thanks in advance!

Goodman · Accepted Answer

New2grammarHello! Anyone out there? I'm locked in!

Is 'locked in' above an adjective? I don't think it is a passive verb in this context. Probably, in the following context, it's used as a passive verb:

Thanks in advance!

Alex: Mary, are you coming? We have been waiting for you 15 minutes now.

Mary: I'm sorry that I forgot to call. I'm grounded.

Alex: What?

Mary: I'm locked up in by my mother!

In the context you have described, “locked in” is used as verb in a passive construction, not adjective. But “locked in” does not sound quite idiomatic to my ears. consider "up" instead.

New2grammar · Answer

Thanks Goodman. This is an area I always find confusing. If I understand you correctly, you are saying the phrase locked in in Anyone out there? I'm locked in is in a passive construction.

I find it difficult to accept action verbs in present tense unless they are used in headlines. There's a tendency to associate passive action verbs with the past tense because the actions have already happened. For example,

John: I was kicked by Amy. (the action 'kicking' happened in the past though he might still be feeling the pain)

John: I was kissed on the cheek. (again, the kiss was planted in the past)

However, some passive verbs are also adjectives, therefore, they are able to take the present tense.

John: I am invited to Mary's birthday party. (adjective - the focus is on the state of being invited rather than the action, otherwise John would have said, I was invited to Mary's birthday party and invited here is again a passive verb)

This is the reason why I think 'locked in' is an adjective. Could you please present your side of argument? I hope I'll be able to learn from a guru like you.

Thanks in advance!

Goodman · Answer

Thanks Goodman. This is an area I always find confusing. If I understand you correctly, you are saying the phrase locked in in Anyone out there? I'm locked in is in a passive construction.

I find it difficult to accept action verbs in present tense unless they are used in headlines. There's a tendency to associate passive action verbs with the past tense because the actions have already happened. For example,

John: I was kicked by Amy. (the action 'kicking' happened in the past though he might still be feeling the pain)

John: I was kissed on the cheek. (again, the kiss was planted in the past)

However, some passive verbs are also adjectives, therefore, they are able to take the present tense.

John: I am invited to Mary's birthday party. (adjective - the focus is on the state of being invited rather than the action, otherwise John would have said, I was invited to Mary's birthday party and invited here is again a passive verb)

This is the reason why I think 'locked in' is an adjective. Could you please present your side of argument? I hope I'll be able to learn from a guru like you.

Thanks in advance!

Hi New2grammar,

Um…from what I am reading, you sure are confused. Very often, past participles are used as adjective, and this usage is accompanied by the verb “be” which could be past or future tense. So far, I think you are ok, right!

Moving on.....for instance: Paul was found lost in the forest, dehydrated, exhausted and weakened but rescued still in good condition. In this sentence, all the verbs are used passively, but only a few are used as adjectives. “Found” and “rescued” are verbs use to describe Paul being the recipient of the action. Dehydrated, lost, exhausted and weakened describe the condition he was in.

You can also say “You have been scheduled to see Dr. Forest on the coming Thursday”. In this construction, “by” is omitted. Someone unspecified (Perhaps Dr. Forest’s secretary) has scheduled you for this appointment. In other words, you have been scheduled to see him – in a passive voice.

Oh, for the "locked in" question, you can say “He was locked (passive verb) in a small room blindfolded (passive adjective) by his kidnapper”.

The way you described it is more proper with “locked up”.

Does this help you at all?

CalifJim · Answer

Hello! Anyone out there? I'm locked in!

Is 'locked in' above an adjective? Yes. I don't think it is a passive verb in this context. You're right. Probably, in the following context, it's used as a passive verb:
......
Yes, with some reservations -- explained below.

It's hard to come up with a good example to illustrate what you want here, but you've come close enough to show that you understand the basic idea -- or at least have a glimmer of how it works! Because the tense you chose normally indicates something habitual, it doesn't quite work. It still sounds a bit like an adjective in spite of the by phrase.

For a person to be locked in (passive verb) is a rather rare situation, but if we change the situation to a fanciful narrative about a talking bird, we might come closer to a good example:

"My owner always puts me in my cage for the night. I am locked in (by my master) every night," said the bird.

(But we should note that Goodman might prefer locked upfor this example as well.

)

Pure guesswork: 99.5% of the time, a past participle (PP) is an adjective in the pattern I am PP.

CJ

New2grammar · Answer

I must have confused you with my poor explanation. Let me try to explain my problem again.

Some action verbs and their corresponding passive and past participle

action verbs: kick, hug, explain, invite...

passive action verbs: kicked, hugged, explained, invited (1)

past participle: kicked , hugged, explained, invited(2) *

* adjective (I could be wrong)

What I know: Given an adjective, I know how to use it in present and past tenses.

My understanding: Not every past participle is used as adjective. In fact, I believe a lot of them are not adjectives as listed above (kicked, hugged, explained).

What I don't know or find it difficult to identify: Given a sentence with a past participle/passive verb, I don't know whether the word is used as adjective or passive verb. For example,

He was invited to the party. ( invited is used as adjective(2) or passive verb(1)? - I think either is fine in this context but I'm curious what the answer is.)

He is invited to the party. ( adjective or passive verb? - I think it's an adjective because my own rule suggests present tense "is" followed by a past particple is likely to make the past participle take the adjective role.)

So my question is, how do I know a past particple/passive verb is used as adjective or passive verb?

Thanks in advance!

New2grammar · Answer

Thanks a lot, CalifJim. Your explanation is what I was looking for! Goodman, thank you too.

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