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TomC
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 1
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 Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 6:46 am Post subject: asleep/sleeping |
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I'm a little confused. Dictionaries say that asleep can only be used either as an adjective or an adverb. So, in the following phrase:
he was asleep - asleep an adjective
But, in the following phrase:
he was sleeping - sleeping is a verb
Why is sleeping a verb and asleep an adjective? I was searching for an answer and it appears that I'm not the only one that's confused!
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/student/viewtopic.php?t=12740
Thanks! |
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LucentShade
Joined: 30 Dec 2003
Posts: 542
Location: Nebraska, USA
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| Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:09 am Post subject: |
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"Sleeping," like many other English ~ing words, can also be used as an adjective:
"Let sleeping dogs lie."
"The sleeping child looked very peaceful."
It's kind of like the difference between "live" and "alive"--"asleep" can't be used before a noun, so "The asleep child looked very peaceful" is incorrect. |
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