"separated" adjective or adverb or...?

[ELTer]

In the sentence, "They want the bill to be separated," is 'separated' an adjective or adverb or something else?

What would most people say to a waiter/waitress, using the word 'separate,' to indicate that they want a certain portion of their bill to be on the other person's bill? "Can you give us separate bills?" Or....?

[emsr2d2]

In the sentence, "They want the bill to be separated," is 'separated' an adjective or adverb or something else?

What would most people say to a waiter/waitress, using the word 'separate,' to indicate that they want a certain portion of their bill to be on the other person's bill? "Can you give us separate bills?" Or....?

"Can you give us/prepare separate bills please?" works perfectly for me.

Also "We'd like to split the bill please."

"They want the bill to be separated" sounds to me like they want someone to actually take the piece of paper and tear it in half (or perhaps separate it from the waiter!)