Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Pain in the English
Pain in the English

Unpacking English, Bit by Bit

A community for questioning, nitpicking, and debating the quirks and rules of the English language.

Username

judeec

Member Since

April 19, 2009

Total number of comments

1

Total number of votes received

6

Bio

Latest Comments

Evident/Evidenced

  • April 19, 2009, 12:41am

We can write "A is evident from B", or "A is evidenced by B". Porsche is correct in pointing out that it is a difference between using an adjective (evident) and a verb (evidenced).

However, the comparisons he made with "God created Man" vs. "Man was created by God", etc. are not related to the same issue. That is an issue regarding active vs. passive voice, and in both sentences the word "created" is a verb.

The verb "to be evidenced" is passive, as in the phrase "A is evidenced by B". Interestingly, however, there is no active equivalent for this verb ("B evidences A" is rarely, if ever, used).