... spares him prison time in US after years spent jailed ...

[Luckystar12]

Hi teachers,

I was reading this article (https://www.benallaensign.com.au/world/assange-arrives-at-court-before-guilty-plea-in-deal/) and came across with the following sentence:


"The plane carrying Assange touched down more than two hours before Wednesday's scheduled start of a plea hearing, in which he is set to admit to a felony for publishing US military secrets under a deal that spares him prison time in US after years spent jailed in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition."

I am a bit confused as to the phrase "spent jailed" here. Is "jailed" a past participle used here as an adverb or adjective? Or is it a construction similar to passive voice? Is the usage here grammatical?

To my knowledge, the verb "spend" is usually followed by a present participle, for example:

"I spent a lot of time cleaning my bedroom."

Thanks so much!

 

[SoothingDave]

But he wasn't jailing. He was jailed.

Think of it as "years spent being jailed."

 

[Tarheel]

Hi teachers,

I was reading this article (https://www.benallaensign.com.au/world/assange-arrives-at-court-before-guilty-plea-in-deal/) and came across with the following sentence:


"The plane carrying Assange touched down more than two hours before Wednesday's scheduled start of a plea hearing, in which he is set to admit to a felony for publishing US military secrets under a deal that spares him prison time in US after years spent jailed in the United Kingdom while fighting extradition."

I am a bit confused as to the phrase "spent jailed" here. Is "jailed" a past participle used here as an adverb or adjective? Or is it a construction similar to passive voice? Is the usage here grammatical?

To my knowledge, the verb "spend" is usually followed by a present participle, for example:

"I spent a lot of time cleaning my bedroom."

[......]

The phrase "spent jailed" means he spent that time in jail.

You can call it a past participle if you want.

 

[Luckystar12]

But he wasn't jailing. He was jailed.

Think of it as "years spent being jailed."

Hi Dave,

Thanks so much for your reply! May I ask why "being" is omitted here? "Years spent being jailed" sounds much more familiar and common to me.

Thanks again!

 

[Luckystar12]

The phrase "spent jailed" means he spent that time in jail.

You can call it a past participle if you want.

Hi Tarheel,

Thanks so much for your reply too. Is it just collocation because I rarely see "spend / spent" followed by a verb + -ed directly...

Thanks again!

 

[emsr2d2]

He's not "being jailed". He's "in jail". The point at which the judge says "I sentence you to XXX months/years in prison" is the point at which he is being jailed. It can also be expressed as "being sent to jail".

I spent ten years jailed in London = I spent ten years in jail in London.
I went straight after ten years spent jailed in London = I became a reformed character (non-criminal) after spending ten years in jail in London

 

[Luckystar12]

He's not "being jailed". He's "in jail". The point at which the judge says "I sentence you to XXX months/years in prison" is the point at which he is being jailed. It can also be expressed as "being sent to jail".

I spent ten years jailed in London = I spent ten years in jail in London.
I went straight after ten years spent jailed in London = I became a reformed character (non-criminal) after spending ten years in jail in London

Hi teacher,

Thanks so much for your reply - so the word "jailed" essentially means "in jail". In that case, is "jailed" functioning as an adverb in this sentence? What is the part of speech of "jailed" here?

Thanks so much.

 

[jutfrank]

Is "jailed" a past participle used here as an adverb or adjective?

Yes, it's a past participle, and yes it's like an adjective phrase in that it describes a state. Not an adverb.

Or is it a construction similar to passive voice? Is the usage here grammatical?

Yes, it's passive voice, which is why the past participle is used. Yes, it's grammatical.

To my knowledge, the verb "spend" is usually followed by a present participle

It is often followed by an active -ing verb phrase, yes, but it's also often followed by a passive -ed phrase. Both are very common.

It is also very commonly followed by adjective phrases and adjectival preposition phrases:

They spent half an hour in the supermarket.
She spent three months homeless.
We spent two days by the sea.
He spent twelve years in jail.
I spent all day in bed.

 

[probus]

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