brat@gatech.CSNET (Steven Goldberg) (10/03/85)
I recently had an argument with my officemate over the past participle
for the verb 'to open'. I held that, while 'opened' is a perfectly
valid word, there is an older participle which is nothing but the
infinitive, 'open'. In other words, the following sentences would
be identical:
The door was open by the man with the one red shoe.
The door was opened by the man with the one red shoe.
I pose the question to linguists and grammarians who might know for
certain, since I believe the former has been overgeneralized in usage
to become the latter. (I accept that 'opened' is perfectly valid,
but am curious about 'open'.)
I realize that 'open' can be used as an adjective to form the passive,
such as, "The door is open," meaning that the door stands open. I contend
that this came from the past participle, just like with any other verb.
(Such as, "The door is closed," where 'closed' is a past participle.)
Any responses would be greatly appreciated, particularly positive ones.
Please respond via mail to brat@gatech. Thanks in advance,
Steven
--
Steven Goldberg
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