Sentence Structure and Word Type

by Lynn
(Fort Worth, TX)

A very enthusiastic student asked me this, and I'm not sure how to answer . . .

"It is worth considering."

What kind of word is "worth"?

Is this sentence present continuous tense?

I appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks


Ola's answer:

Hi Lynn,

In this case, "worth" is an adjective.

Compare the following sentences:

"It is big."
"It is important."
"It is worth."

All the underlined words are adjectives.

However, there is one important difference. The last sentence, the one with "worth," doesn't feel complete, does it?

That's because in this meaning "worth" actually requires an object.

The object is a noun, pronoun or a number that completes its meaning.

Therefore, we must add an object to "worth."

For example:

"It is worth 10 dollars."
"It is worth my time."
"It is worth considering."

In conclusion, "worth" is an adjective, but it is a special kind of adjective, since it requires an object to complete its meaning.

And no, this sentence is not in the continuous tense.

"Considering," in this case, acts as a noun.

It's like you would say "I like jogging."

Then "jogging" describes a thing, rather than an action.