Re: Need help on Parts of Speech, teachers. Thanks v. much!
Helped Wanted said:
The citizens do not like the policy proposed by the government; they opposed it strongly and voices of opposition are heard everywhere.
Is the word "opposed" used in the sentence above in the form of an adjective or verb? Please advise, teachers! Thanks ^o^
As Ronbee mentions, it's a verb, in the past tense (-ed). Some words ending in -ed function as adjectives, but in those cases, the adjective usually comes after the verb, like this,
They
built a weather
ed house. (verb = built, adjective = weathered).
In the example sentence you provided, though, the -ed word does not come after a verb:
They
opposed it strongly. (verb =opposed)
'opposed' is the verb. We also know this because 'opposed' comes after the subject 'They'.
They (Subject)
opposed (Verb)
it (Object)
strongly (Adverb).
Here's a trick to tell whether an -ed word is a verb. Ask the question "What did they
do to it?"
They opposed it.
QUESTION: What did they
do to it?
ANSWER: They
opposed it? (verb)
They built a weathered house.
QUESTION: What did they
do to it?
Answer: They
built it. ('built' is the verb; 'weathered' is not the verb.)
All the best,