to be considered something

@Freeguy posted:

The eastern bluebird is considered an attractive bird native to this continent by many bird-watchers. (Source: Iran's university entrance exams)

1. Is "attractive bird" a subject complement?

Hi, Freeguy—In the example sentence, which is in the passive voice and does not contain a subject complement, the noun phrase "an attractive bird native to this continent" functions as a retained object from the related active-voice sentence, in which that same noun phrase functions as an object complement:

active voice: Many bird-watchers consider the eastern bluebird an attractive bird native to this continent.

passive voice: The eastern bluebird is considered an attractive bird native to this continent by many bird-watchers.

@Freeguy posted:

2. Can we say "consider" is functioning as a linking verb here?

No, "consider" is here a transitive verb in a passive-voice construction. In the corresponding active-voice construction, it is complemented by a direct object ("the eastern bluebird") and an object complement ("an attractive bird . . .").

@Freeguy posted:

3. To me, It is not clear whether many birdwatchers consider it to be ‘attractive’ or ‘native to this continent’ or both.

Both: "an attractive bird [that is] native to this continent."

Thank you for your thorough explanation. May I send another interpretation of a native English teacher? I need your to confirm it:

@Freeguy posted:

Thank you for your thorough explanation. May I send another interpretation of a native English teacher? I need your to confirm it:

It might help to simplify the active and passive sentences and return to basics:

(1) Many bird-watchers consider the eastern bluebird an attractive bird.

(2) The eastern bluebird is considered an attractive bird by many bird-watchers.

In (1), ‘many bird-watchers’ is the subject, ‘consider’ is the verb and ‘the eastern bluebird’ is the object.

In (2), ‘the eastern bluebird’ is the subject, ‘is considered’ is the verb, ‘an attractive bird’ is the complement (or subject predicative) and ‘by many bird-watchers’ is the agent.

David has provided you with a perfect explanation as to why "an attractive bird native to this continent" is not a subject complement, but a retained object complement. On the surface, the complement refers to the subject, but considering that the subject in the passive is the object in the active, it actually refers to the object. If you say it is a subject complement, you miss the importance of the verb "consider": the sentence does not say that the bird is an attractive bird native to this continent, but that it is considered an attractive bird native to this continent.

With other complex-transitive verbs in the passive voice, the object-object complement relationship is even clearer:

- He was made a king (They made him a king)

I think "an attractive bird native to this continent" would be the subject complement if "to be" were added:

- The eastern bluebird is considered to be an attractive bird native to this continent by many bird-watchers. (Many bird watchers consider that the eastern bluebird is an attractive bird native to this continent).

With this addition, I'd feel inclined to place the agent immediately after the verb in the passive:

- The eastern bluebird is considered by many bird-watchers to be an attractive bird native to this continent.

Although the sentence with "to be" is similar to the original one in meaning, it is syntactically different.

I think there is a difference here.

With Professor Pullum's permission, I am going to share his response here:

@Freeguy posted:

With Professor Pullum's permission, I am going to share his response here:

Hello again, Freeguy—Have you actually corresponded with Professor Pullum about this and literally received his permission to post comments of his here on the Grammar Exchange? If so, I shall respectfully defer to his analysis: he is above my paygrade. If not, I shall continue to explain things as I see fit.

@Freeguy posted:

The eastern bluebird is considered an attractive bird native to this continent by many bird-watchers.

The boldfaced constituent is a predicative complement, associated with the subject.

Please define what you mean by "predicative complement." This is not a grammatical term in universal usage. It sounds like CGEL jargon to me, i.e., terminology created and wielded by Huddleson and Pullum themselves to meet their analytical needs in their linguistically refined comprehensive grammar.

@Freeguy posted:

The simplest way to see this is to try replacing it by an adjective phrase:

     The eastern bluebird is considered highly attractive by many bird-watchers.

You can never replace an object by an adjective phrase. I illustrate with the verb consider:

     You should consider your decision very carefully.

   *You should consider decisive very carefully.

     You should consider an entirely new career.

   *You should consider entirely new.

That doesn't sound like Pullum to me. That sounds as if you are confused about the nature of the construction. The complementation pattern in the active voice is "consider NP1 NP2"/ "consider NP1 AP" (where "NP" stands for "noun phrase" and "AP" stands for "adjective phrase"). When passivized, these become:

active: consider NP1 NP2
example: "I consider him a jerk."
passive: NP1 be considered NP2
example: "He is considered a jerk."

active: consider NP AP
example: "I consider him rude."
passive: NP be considered AP.
example: "He is considered rude."

By describing NP2 as a "retained object" in the passive version, I do not mean to suggest that that noun phrase is not also a complement of "consider" at a deeper level. I analyze the passive construction as deriving from the active construction, wherein NP2 is the object complement.

Yes, I had his permission to share his response.

Meanwhile, what I quoted is what the Professor said verbatim. I didn't include my interpretation at all.

@Freeguy posted:

Yes, I had his permission to share his response.

Meanwhile, what I quoted is what the Professor said verbatim. I didn't include my interpretation at all.

Why is it that you were asking a question here concerning which you had already received an answer from one of today's leading major-league grammarians?

Because he is busy, I did not expect him to answer me, And when I asked my questions here, I hadn't received any response from the professor. Also you always provide us with good explanations.