 Re: What do the sentences mean?
Yes. Notice the parallel between (a) the past participle, and (b) the adjective in :
a) Contributions to charity have been exempted from tax since 1975.
b) Contributions to charity have been exempt from tax since 1975.
a) The theatre has been filled to capacity every night this week.
b) The theatre has been full to capacity every night this week.
It's exactly the same in :
a) Her work has been subjected to criticism recently.
b) Her work has been subject to criticism recently.
In all three cases you have the choice as to whether you express the concept as
a) a passive verb (using auxiliary BE plus a main verb in the past participle) or...
b) using the main verb BE plus the adjective. |