ESLGold Stative Passives Lyrics

Stative Passives

Stative passives are verb-like words that follow "be" in sentences and function as adjectives. See the examples below:
He is hungry.
He is interested
His leg is broken (Adjective)
(Stative passive)
(Stative passive)

Stative passives indicate a status or condition which may exist over a period of time. In contrast, action verbs often indicate a change from one status to another.
We got married in 1998.
We are married now.
Jack broke the window.
The window is broken.
(Action: We changed from "single" to "married.")
Status: Our current condition is "married.")
(Action: Indicates what happened at a given moment.)
(Status: Indicates the condition of the window.)

Note how the action/status contrast works with other verbs:
Jared fell asleep.
Jared is asleep.
Joan became sick.
Joan is sick.

The building caught fire.
The building is on fire now.

The doctor came in.
The doctor is in.
(Action: Change in status from "awake" to "asleep").
(Status: Indicates Jared's current condition.)
(Action: Joan changed from "healthy" to "sick.")
(Status: Joan's present condition.)

(Action: Indicates the point when the fire started.)
(Status: Indicates the condition of the building.)