[color=indigo]1-He was badly beaten up.
Can’t this sentence mean two things:
[color=red]1a-He had been beaten up badly and was in a “badly beaten up” state. That was his state.
[color=blue]1b-He got beaten up badly.
It seems to me that this sentence:
[color=darkred]2-He was beaten up badly.
could only have meaning “1b” (the dynamic meaning") and never meaning “1a” (the stative meaning).
Is that correct?
Gratefully,
Navi.
I think both meanings are possible, although it is true that without context, meaning 1b seems more likely. But in the context: “The day after the fight he returned to school. He was badly beaten up. He had a black eye and his lip was swollen.” it is clear that 1a is correct. Here in the US we often describe an old car as “beat up” and in fact a car in really bad condition is called a “beater”.
Thank you very much Luschen.
Is this one:
[color=brown]2-He was beaten up badly.
ambiguous as well? It seems to me that it is not and it could only mean:
He got beaten up badly.
Gratefully,
Navi.
It would be possible that it meant he was beaten up in a very poor way, but the likelihood of anyone meaning that would be extremely low.
Thanks you very much Beeesneees.
I have to admit that interpretation had not even crossed my mind! It seems a little far-fetched but is certainly a possibility, although highly improbable. I should have thought of it!
I just wanted to know if:
[color=brown]2-He was beaten up badly.
could ever have the “stative” meaning.
Consider the following cases:
[color=indigo]A-When I went in the room, Harry and his bodyguards had left. John was all alone, lying on the floor. He was badly beaten up. (“He was in a badly beaten up state”. He had been badly beaten up.)
[color=red]B-When I went in the room, Harry and his bodyguards had left. John was all alone, lying on the floor. He was beaten up badly. (“He was in a badly beaten up state”. He had been badly beaten up.)
It seems to me that “A” works, but “B” does not. Am I correct?
Gratefully,
Navi.