Jack,



For what it's worth, I agree completely with your analysis.  The perfect participle has two functions in your sentence.  If there is an agent, instrument, or means mentioned, there is a corresponding active expression.  Where the volume of work may be instrumental or the means by which he was exhausted, the plausiblity of an active form may waver depending on the verb.  I think that the farther from agent that the adverbial phrase is, the less likely the passive interpretation becomes.  If I say, "The man was exhausted quickly," the very presence of a manner adverbial may make the passive interpretation easily come to mind. However, if I say, "The man was soon exhausted," the time adverbial does not clarify the ambiguity at all.  Either way he may be already brought to the state or in the process.  If I say, "The man was very exhausted," I would not expect a passive interpretation at all.  Some grammarians argue that the use of "very" can be a strong case for the form being an adjective of state derived from the participle.  



Bruce



--- [log in to unmask] wrote:



From: "Dixon, Jack" <[log in to unmask]>

To: [log in to unmask]

Subject: grammar question--explaining a sentence with shifting contexts

Date:         Thu, 3 Mar 2011 05:53:01 -0600



Examine this sentence:   The man was exhausted.



With no more context than this simple 4-word sentence, does this sentence reflect a subject +verb pattern?   [Exhaust is a transitive verb usually, isn’t it?]



Or, does it reflect a subject + verb (to be) + predicate adjective pattern?





Now, more context: The man was exhausted because he worked a double shift.



In this sentence, "exhausted" is a predicate adjective following the pattern: subject + to be verb+ subject complement:  "exhausted" is a past participle functioning as an adjective, followed by an adverbial clause.



But look at this formulation:  The man was exhausted by the volume of work.



In this sentence, "was exhausted" is the verb phrase reflecting the passive voice.  If made active, the sentence would read           The volume of work exhausted the man.



What might I be overlooking in examining how this basic sentence works?  Would you agree with my explanations? 



Thanks.



Jack

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