[fface]

Hi susan,

1."Her work has been subjected to criticism recently."

Is the sentence correct and what does it mean?

2."Central Italy is subject to earthquakes."

Does it mean earthquakes often hit Central Italy?

Thank you very much for your answer.

[susan53]

1."Her work has been subjected to criticism recently."
Fine. In this case "subject" is a verb : to subject X to Y = to cause X to be affected by Y.. So this is a passive construction with "subjected" as the past participle. The active version would be : The boss has subjected her work to a lot of criticism recently


2. Yes - unfortunately

[fface]

Quote fface

1."Her work has been subjected to criticism recently."

Hi susan,
Does the sentence above mean the same as "Her work has been subject to criticism recently"? I'm still confused.

Thank you for your reply.

[susan53]

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.