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hiromichi
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1380
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 Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 2:39 pm Post subject: is hunkered down |
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Since "hunker" is an intransitive verb, it cannot take a passive voice such as "is hunkered down." So "is hunkering down"is correct. Am I right?
�This continues to be a very difficult endeavor,� Mr. Obama said. �Al Qaeda is hunkered down. It will take time to hunt them down.� But he vowed to �never waver from our goal.�
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buddhaheart
Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 195
Location: Vancouver, BC Canada
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| Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: is hunkered down |
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| hiromichi wrote: |
Since "hunker" is an intransitive verb, it cannot take a passive voice such as "is hunkered down." So "is hunkering down"is correct. Am I right?
�This continues to be a very difficult endeavor,� Mr. Obama said. �Al Qaeda is hunkered down. It will take time to hunt them down.� But he vowed to �never waver from our goal.� |
�Hunker down� is a phrasal verb. Here �is hunkered down� takes the meaning of �has hunkered down.� It is not a passive voice. The verb is in the present perfect tense.
Sometimes an intransitive verb could become transitive by adding a preposition to it. A good example is the verb �laugh�. �Laughed at� becomes transitive while �laugh� itself is not. �Laughed at� can be used in passive construction like �He was laughed at by his peers.� |
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hiromichi
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 1380
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| Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 3:15 pm Post subject: |
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buddhaheart:
Thank you very much for your clear explanation.
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Hiromichi |
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