Puffed out

Question

'Wait! snuffed the rabbit. I'm all puffed out.'I read the above in my son's reading book.Is "puffed out" an adjective or a verb here?How do we know that?Does "all" mean completely here?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

JigneshbharatiDoes "all" mean completely here?

Yes. 'completely', i.e., all over the rabbit's body.

Jigneshbharati'Wait! snuffed the rabbit. I'm all puffed out.'I read the above in my son's reading book.Is "puffed out" an adjective or a verb here?

adjective

JigneshbharatiHow do we know that?

1) There is no adverb of regularity like 'habitually', 'regularly', 'every day', 'every week', etc., and no equivalent clause of regularity like 'whenever my fur gets matted', 'whenever I go for a combing'.

2) There is no by-phrase of agent like 'by my wife', 'by the fur puffer', etc.

3) You can add very or more without making the sentence ungrammatical:

I'm very puffed out. I'm more puffed out than you.

4) The structure resembles the structure where adjectives often occur:

I'm puffed out. / I'm tired. / I'm surprised. / I'm amazed. / I'm intrigued. / I'm ready. / I'm lucky. / I'm afraid. / I'm angry.

5) To be a verb puffed out would have to be in the passive voice. This implies

Somebody (or something) puffs me out.

There's nothing in the context that suggests that anyone or anything actively puffs out the rabbit.

CJ

P.S. It's not clear what 'puffed out' is supposed to mean. There's not enough context. I just took a guess in my explanation above.

Puffed out

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