The superstar stands there surrounded by his fans.

[neb090]

The superstar stands there surrounded by his fans.

I wrote this sentence by myself. But I am wondering if surrounded in this sentence is an adjective or a past participle.

I looked it up on the internet, and some people said if the word can be modified by adverbs such as very, quite, rather, completely..., then it is an adjective, and if not, it is a past participle.

So, they think surrounded in this sentence is an adjective, not a past participle. ---> The superstar stands there completely surrounded by his fans.

However, my question is since surrounded is followed by the word "by", why can't it be a past participle?

My another question is when a word can be modified by very, quite, rather, completely...., and it can also be followed by "by", how can I identify it as an adjective or a past participle?

 

[jutfrank]

I wrote this sentence by myself.

Why?

But I am wondering if surrounded in this sentence is an adjective or a past participle.

You should ask whether it's an adjective or verb. Yes, it's a past participle form, as are many adjectives.

In this case, it denotes a state, not an action, so analyse it as an adjective.

However, my question is since surrounded is followed by the word "by", why can't it be a past participle?

You mean 'Why isn't it a verb?', the answer to which is that it denotes a state, not an action.

My another question is when a word can be modified by very, quite, rather, completely...., and it can also be followed by "by", how can I identify it as an adjective or a past participle?

Think first about the meaning of the word. If the word denotes a state, and the verb cannot do that, then you know it's an adjective.

 

[5jj]

As jutfrank said, it is a past participle (form) - (I would not use the word I have bracketed).

My another question is when a word can be modified by 'very, quite, rather, completely"...., and it can also be followed by "by", how can I identify it as an adjective or a past participle?

Perhaps slightly off-topic:

Does it matter what part-of-speech (word-class) label you give it? Unless you are studying grammar/linguistics at an undergraduate or higher level, I see little point in worrying about such things. Academic grammarians spend a gread deal of time disagreeing about the appropriate labels to assign to various words - and such discussions offer little to the average student who simply wishes to improve their communication skills in English.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wrote this sentence by myself.

I've corrected this in a few of your posts but I don't think you've noticed. Note the difference between "I wrote it by myself" (I did it alone, without any help) and "I wrote it myself" (I wrote it - it wasn't written by someone else). I'm sure you do a lot of things "by yourself" every day. That's irrelevant here - you need to simply say "I wrote this [sentence] myself".

 

[Tarheel]

If I would say I did something by myself I would mean I was alone when I did it. (I didn't have company.)

Earlier today I took a nap by myself.

 

[neb090]

I've corrected this in a few of your posts but I don't think you've noticed. Note the difference between "I wrote it by myself" (I did it alone, without any help) and "I wrote it myself" (I wrote it - it wasn't written by someone else). I'm sure you do a lot of things "by yourself" every day. That's irrelevant here - you need to simply say "I wrote this [sentence] myself".

Do “I did something myself.” emphasize I am the original person who did that？

 

[emsr2d2]

Does “I did something myself” emphasize [that] I am the original person who did that it？

Yes.

 

[Tarheel]

By myself.

I took a nap by myself.
I woke up by myself.
I had a snack by myself.
I watched a Thomas Sowell interview by myself.

 

[neb090]

Yes.

If A and B committed a crime and were caught by the police. And when Ａ and B were in court, A said to the judge that all the bad things were done by him and that they were nothing to do with B.

In this case, should A say "I did them by myself" or "I did them myself?"

 

[emsr2d2]

If A and B committed a crime and were caught by the police, and whenＡ and B they were in court, A said to told the judge that all the bad things the crime were was done committed by him and that they were it was nothing to do with B, In this case, should A say "I did them by myself" or "I did them myself?"

Note my corrections above. You started with "a crime" so you should stick with the singular throughout.
Of those two, "I did them by myself" is the better choice. However, "alone" is more appropriate in a court setting than "by myself". Using just "myself" doesn't preclude the involvement of another person. It's possible to say "I committed the crime myself, with the help of B".
Bear in mind that criminals are more likely to throw the other person under the bus than admit to having done it themselves. A is more likely to say "B did it. It was nothing to do with me!" or "I don't know who did it but it wasn't me!"

 

[neb090]

admit to having done it themselves.

Note my corrections above. You started with "a crime" so you should stick with the singular throughout.
Of those two, "I did them by myself" is the better choice. However, "alone" is more appropriate in a court setting than "by myself". Using just "myself" doesn't preclude the involvement of another person. It's possible to say "I committed the crime myself, with the help of B".
Bear in mind that criminals are more likely to throw the other person under the bus than admit to having done it themselves. A is more likely to say "B did it. It was nothing to do with me!" or "I don't know who did it but it wasn't me!"

So does "I did it myself" imply that someone else might do the same thing, but it's me that did the thing that is mentioned at the moment?

 

[emsr2d2]

So does "I did it myself" imply that someone else might do the same thing, but it's me that did the thing that is mentioned at the moment?

No.

 

[neb090]

Hi, emsr2d2

I have some questions about your corrections.
1. Your corrections "...all the crime was committed by him..." The reason you use "was" is because I said "If A and B committed a crime?"
2. If I didn't say "...all the crime was committed by him" in front of the sentence, then I could say "All the crimes were committed by someone."

Is that correct?

 

[Tarheel]

Let's use shorter sentences.

Al and Bo committed a crime.

You have already said that both are culpable.

However, when they go to court Al tried to take the blame, and he tells the judge that he is entirely responsible for the crime. He says he is entirely to blame and that Bo wasn't even there. The prosecutor says there is video evidence showing that both of them were there. Al says the camera is lying -- that Bo wasn't there.

Please tell me what you mean by "surrounded by a sentence".

 

[neb090]

Let's use shorter sentences.

Al and Bo committed a crime.

You have already said that both are culpable.

However, when they go to court Al tried to take the blame, and he tells the judge that he is entirely responsible for the crime. He says he is entirely to blame and that Bo wasn't even there. The prosecutor says there is video evidence showing that both of them were there. Al says the camera is lying -- that Bo wasn't there.

Please tell me what you mean by "surrounded by a sentence".

Sorry, what I want to ask is if I didn't say "If A and B committed a crime" in front of the sentence.

 

[neb090]

Let's use shorter sentences.

Al and Bo committed a crime.

You have already said that both are culpable.

However, when they go to court Al tried to take the blame, and he tells the judge that he is entirely responsible for the crime. He says he is entirely to blame and that Bo wasn't even there. The prosecutor says there is video evidence showing that both of them were there. Al says the camera is lying -- that Bo wasn't there.

Please tell me what you mean by "surrounded by a sentence".

Sorry, what I mean is "surrounded" is followed by "by."

 

[neb090]

1. He was surrounded by his fans for 30 minutes.
2. He was surrounded.

In these two sentences, is surrounded also an adjective?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi, emsr2d2

I have some questions about your corrections.
1. Your corrections "...all the crime was committed by him..." The reason you use "was" is because I said "If A and B committed a crime?"
2. If I didn't say "...all the crime was committed by him" in front of the sentence, then I could say "All the crimes were committed by someone."

Is that correct?

@neb090 Before I saw your post above, I'd gone in and edited my original corrections. Apologies - I meant to strike through "all the bad crimes" and replace it with "the crime". That's why I used "was". Unfortunately, I failed to strike through "all the", leading to a completely confusing sentence. To be clear, because you opened with "If A and B committed a crime ...", you would say:

... when they were in court, A told the judge that the crime was committed by him ...

If you had opened the piece with "If A and B had committed some crimes and were caught by police, ...", you would use "... A told the judge that [all] the crimes were committed by him ...".

 

[Tarheel]

Sorry, what I want to ask is if I didn't say "If A and B committed a crime" in front of the sentence.

That doesn't work. Forget about using "in front of the sentence ". One sentence can come before another one or after another one, but I'm not sure that's you're talking about.

 

[Tarheel]

Sorry, what I mean is "surrounded" is followed by "by."

I don't know what that means.