Identify the part of speech of the underlined word in the sentence given below: He is asleep.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:

The correct option is 4: Adjective

In the sentence "He is asleep," the word "asleep" functions as a predicate adjective. An adjective is a word that modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun. In this particular sentence, "asleep" describes the state or condition of the subject, "He." Crucially, it follows a linking verb, which in this case is the form of 'to be' ("is"). Linking verbs connect the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, which can be either a predicate noun or a predicate adjective. Words beginning with the prefix 'a-', such as *asleep, afraid, aware, alike*, etc., are a common group of English adjectives. While most adjectives can be used in two positions (attributively, before a noun: e.g., "a sleeping man"; or predicatively, after a linking verb: e.g., "The man is asleep"), words like *asleep* are known as ungradable or non-attributive adjectives, meaning they can only be used after a linking verb (predicatively) and cannot directly precede the noun they modify. Since "asleep" is modifying the pronoun "He" and is linked by the verb "is," it accurately fulfills the role of an adjective providing information about the subject's condition.

The incorrect option is 1: Object

The word "asleep" cannot be an object (either direct or indirect) because objects typically follow transitive verbs and receive the action of that verb. In the sentence "He is asleep," the verb "is" is a linking verb, not a transitive action verb, and therefore it cannot take a direct object. Furthermore, "asleep" describes the subject, which is the definition of a subject complement, not an object.

The incorrect option is 2: Verb

"Asleep" is not the main verb of the sentence. The verb in the sentence is "is," which is the simple present tense of the linking verb 'to be.' Verbs express action, occurrence, or state of being; since "asleep" describes the state *of* the subject rather than performing the action *on* the subject, it cannot be classified as the verb.

The incorrect option is 3: Adverb

An adverb is a word that typically modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb, and often answers questions like *how, when, where,* or *to what extent*. While some adverbs can relate to state or manner, "asleep" is modifying the subject 'He' through the linking verb 'is,' not modifying the verb itself. If it were an adverb, it would imply that the subject is performing the verb 'is' in an 'asleep' manner, which is grammatically and logically unsound in this structure.