Stative passives are verb-like words that follow “be” in sentences and function as adjectives. See the examples below:
He is hungry.
|
(Adjective) |
He is interested
|
(Stative passive) |
His leg is broken
|
(Stative passive) |
Stative passives indicate a status or condition which may exist over a period of time. In contrast, action verbs often indicate a change from one status to another.
We got married in 1998.
|
(Action: We changed from “single” to “married”.) |
We are married now.
|
Status: Our current condition is “married.”) |
Jack broke the window.
|
(Action: Indicates what happened at a given moment.) |
The window is broken.
|
(Status: Indicates the condition of the window.) |
Note how the action/status contrast works with other verbs:
Jared fell asleep.
Jared is asleep.
|
(Action: Change in status from “awake” to "asleep").
(Status: Indicates Jared’s current condition.) |
Joan became sick.
Joan is sick.
|
(Action: Joan changed from “healthy” to “sick.”)
(Status: Joan’s present condition.) |
The building caught fire.
The building is on fire now.
|
(Action: Indicates the point when the fire started.)
(Status: Indicates the condition of the building.)
|
The doctor came in.
The doctor is in.
|
(Action)
(Status) |
Stative passives are often used with prepositional expressions.
See Grammar: Preposition Collocations with “Be".
She is interested in photography.
Brad was worried about his mother.
Carmen is terrified of snakes.
Everyone was caught up in the excitement.
Some adjectives also fit in the same pattern:
