"The damage couldn't be avoided."

[evertgoran]

I was wondering about what "be" is doing in this sentence.

"The damage couldn't be avoided."

I looked up "be" on https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/be_1?q=be but I can't really pin it to any of the definitions.

I understand what "couldn't" is doing; it is telling us that it wasn't possible to avoid the damage.
But, what is "be" expressing? Is it giving us more information about "damage"?


I will highly appreciate any help! Thank you in advance!

 

[evertgoran]

It's part of the passive construction.

Active: They couldn't avoid the damage.
Passive: The damage couldn't be avoided.

The passive voice is formed with part of BE and the third form (past participle) of the full verb.

Thank you for answering!

So, if I understood this correctly, the "be" isn't standing independently here? It is really a part of the verb "avoid" when used in its passive voice?

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't say it's part of the verb "avoided" but it's certainly inextricably attached to it.