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See these examples.

1-The boy breaks his toys every day (active form).

2-his toys are broken every day by him (passive form).

But we also use "broken" as an adjective to express the current state of something that is in pieces because of being dropped.

For example,

3-his toys are broken (the current state of his toys)

So, what is the difference between "broken" in 2 and 3?

I would say the 2 focuses on the action and the 3 focuses on the state.

My question is that

Can any V3 form of a verb be used as both one for action and one for state like the verb "break"?

I feel like some verbs can be used that way, but not all.

For example, Say I have some colored clay I bought from the Toy supermarket.

I shape the clay every day (action)

The clay is shaped by me every day (action)

The clay is shaped like an egg (state)

I am not sure if "wash" can be used that way.

I wash my shirt every day (action)

My shirt is washed by me every day (action)

However,

Can I say "My shirt is washed" to express the current state of the shirt?

Can I say "the cake is eaten" to express the current state of the cake?

Can I say "the bird is flown" to express the current state of the bird?

If not all V3 form of a verb can be used as an adjective, what kinds of verbs can be used that way?

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  • No. Some past participles are also used as adjectives of state, but not all. I don't think there's any general rule.
    – Barmar
    Commented Dec 11 at 17:32
  • Not only is there no rule, but the list of verbs that work this way probably changes over time.
    – Barmar
    Commented Dec 11 at 17:33
  • Intransitive verbs to my knowledge cannot be used as such adjectives. That's why the bird is flown does not work, unless you mean that somebody else or something else is flying the bird as a pilot flies the plane. There are exceptions, but rare such as He was gone
    – fev
    Commented Dec 11 at 19:11
  • Have a look at the so-called ergative verbs
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Commented Dec 11 at 23:29
  • You can describe a food item as half-eaten (obviously if it's all been eaten it no longer exists!).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Dec 12 at 9:13

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Normally, because intransitive verbs cannot have direct objects, they cannot be passivized and so what you call the 3rd form of the verb, the past participle, cannot be used as an adjective. For example:

She yawns.

cannot be transformed into

*She is yawned.

nor used as an adjective

*She is yawned like a bubble.

Staff.washington.edu explains that

Most past participles have passive meanings when they are used like adjectives or adverbs.

Thought.co quotes Barbara M. Birch's, “English Grammar Pedagogy: A Global Perspective.” (Routledge, 2014):

The -ed adjectives (advanced, alleged, bored, complicated, excited, exhausted) have a completed or passive meaning.

This is more of a general guiding line than a rule. There are some exceptions, when the past participles of transitive verbs retain their active meaning even when they are used as adjectives, as staff.washington.edu states in the same post:

A few intransitive verbs have past participles that can be used as adjectives with active meanings, especially before nouns.

  • a fallen leaf (=a leaf that has fallen)
  • advanced students (=students who have advanced to a high level, not students who have been advanced...)
  • developed countries
  • increased activity
  • vanished civilizations
  • a retired general
  • a grown-up daughter
  • an escaped prisoner
  • faded colors
  • swollen ankles

Some more past participles can only be used in this way in phrases with adverbs.

  • a well-read person
  • a much-traveled man
  • recently-arrived immigrants

If you want to know more, what you need to look up is participial adjectives which includes those ending in -ing (from present participles with active meaning). They are also called verbal adjectives or deverbal adjectives.

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