Is, Are & Am + Past Participle

[Jadoon 84]

In cricket, when a batsman is out, commentator says, "He is gone or Ricky Ponting (the batsman) is gone"

Questions:

1, Please explain its meaning.
2, How 3rd form of verb is used after Is, Are & Am in active voice sentences?

[emsr2d2]

I think we've had this discussion before and I think there was some disagreement. To my mind, the word "gone" is being used as an adjective here, to replace "out".

He has been bowled out.
He was caught out.
He is out.
He is gone.

I hear it as a way of saying "He has been bowled/caught out and now has to leave the pitch". When he has left the pitch, he will have gone.
I think when we last talked about this on the forum, that there were some people who think that what is said is simply "He's gone" and that "He's" is a contraction of "He has". It's possible but it wouldn't make much sense because the player has not gone (in a physical sense) when the words are spoken.

We use it in some other constructions:

- Has Dave left yet?
- Don't worry. He's as good as gone.

("He's" is certainly a contraction of "He is" there.)

[TheParser]

2, How 3rd form of verb is used after Is, Are & Am in active voice sentences?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Good morning, Jadoon:

1. Of course, I know nothing about cricket.

2. I wish only to try to answer your second question.

3. The world's greatest grammarian (my opinion, of course) explains it this way (IF I have read it correctly):

a. Many, many years ago, the English people would say something like "The tree is fallen." That is, "The tree is in a fallen state."

b. Then the English people started to use "have/has."

c. So the English people had a choice: The tree is/has fallen.

d. This great grammarian tells us that "Today [he published his masterpiece in 1931] we only ... use is when we feel the perfect participle as expressing more or less clearly the idea of a state and hence as having the force of an adjective." [As emsr told us.]

i. Thus, do not be surprised if you read in "poetic language" or "set expressions" sentences such as:

(a) We are assembled here to discuss a difficult question.
(b) The messenger is gone.
(c) Our friend is departed.

Sincerely,


James


That fantastic grammarian was Professor Dr. George Oliver Curme. This information comes from the second volume of his masterpiece A Grammar of the English Language, page 359.