In the copular constructions in (96), we have used the copular verb blijken'to turn out' instead of zijn'to be' in order to avoid problems that arise due to the fact that the copular verb zijn'to be' is homophonous with the perfect and passive auxiliaries zijn; if we replace blijken in (96b-d) by zijn, as in (99), it is not immediately clear whether we are dealing with a copular or a passive/past perfect construction. Note that we can put (96a) aside for the moment because transitive verbs do not take the perfect auxiliary zijn'to be', but hebben'to have' (but see the discussion in Subsection 2).

Example (99c) is grammatical, in contrast to (96d), but we are not dealing with a copular construction since the participle can only refer to the process of falling and not to the state of being fallen. This is also clear from the fact, illustrated in (100), that adverbials like al jarenlang cannot be used. From this we conclude that we are dealing with the perfect auxiliary zijn.

      We are not dealing with a copular construction in (99b) either: the participle does not refer to the state of being offered and (101a) shows that modification by the adverbial phrase al jarenlang is impossible. Furthermore, an indirect object can be added, which is impossible if we are dealing with a truly adjectival participle; cf. Table 6. Since a passive door-phrase is also possible in (101a), we are clearly dealing with a passive construction. Recall that if the passive auxiliary is worden, as in (101b), an inchoative or durative aspect is added, as a result of which the adverb test is no longer conclusive: adverbial phrases that refer to an interval on the time axis become possible in that case.

      In accordance with our findings with respect to (99b&c), the participle in example (99a) may also have a verbal reading. So, (99a) differs from the unambiguous copular construction with blijken'to turn out' in (96b) in that it need not have the adjectival/state reading, but can also have the (verbal) past perfect reading. In accordance with this, example (102a) shows that the adverbial phrases al jarenlang'for years' and om drie uur'at 3 oʼclock' can both be used felicitously. This does not imply, however, that constructions with zijn are always ambiguous: if the participle is prefixed with on-, as in (102b), we are clearly dealing with an adjective and only the stative reading is possible, which is also clear from the fact that the presence of the adverbial PP om drie uur leads to unacceptability. Furthermore, example (102c) shows that the adjectival reading is excluded if the participle appears after the verb in clause-final position: this is, of course, in accordance with the finding from Section 6.2.2 that adjectives must precede the clause-final verb(s); see also Table 2.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that the ungrammatical version of sentences such as (102c) is sometimes produced. On closer introspection, most speakers will agree that this should be considered a performance error. The same performance error is occasionally made with pseudo-participles like bekend'well-known/famous'.

Section 6.2.1, sub IB, has shown that in Dutch dialects that allow possessive datives, the Standard Dutch copular construction in (103a) has the semi-copular alternant in (103b).

Now, consider the Standard Dutch example in (104a), which can be construed either as a passive or as a copular construction, depending on whether the participle is construed as verbal or adjectival. The actual reading can be established by means of several tests: addition of the adverb gisteren'yesterday', as in (104b), suggests that we are dealing with the verbal (passive) participle, which is confirmed by the fact that the passive door-phrase can be added to such examples; addition of adverbial phrases like al jarenlang, as in (104c), suggests that we are dealing with a copular construction, which is confirmed by the fact that the door-phrase cannot be added. More evidence for these conclusions is that (104d) shows that the participle cannot occur postverbally if the adverbial phrase is al jarenlang.

In the non-standard varieties of Dutch that allow the semi-copular construction in (103b), (104a) can be translated as in (105a) on the truly adjectival reading of the participle. This sentence is again ambiguous, as it can also be interpreted as a perfect-tense construction. The construction can be disambiguated in similar ways as (104a): addition of the adverb gisteren in (105b) is only possible on the verbal reading of the participle, whereas addition of al jarenlang in (105c) triggers the adjectival/state reading. Observe that, as expected, the adverbial phrase al jarenlang cannot be used in the corresponding present-tense construction *Hij steelt al jarenlang de fiets'He was stealing the bike for years'. Example (104d), finally, shows that the adverbial phrase al jarenlang cannot be used if the participle follows the auxiliary in clause-final position.

As the participle can only be interpreted as truly adjectival if the subject enters into a possessive relation with the object, (105a) can also be disambiguated by adding a possessive pronoun to the object: this blocks this possessive relation and, as a result, (106) is only compatible with the verbal reading of the participle.

      Section 6.2.1, sub IB, has also shown that Standard Dutch has a similar semi-copular construction with hebben'to have', which occurs under somewhat more strict conditions than the dialect construction in (105a). A sentence like (107a), for example, is ambiguous between a past perfect and a semi-copular reading. That (107a) can be interpreted as a past perfect construction is clear from the fact that it has the present tense counterpart in (107b), and that it can be interpreted as a semi-copular construction is evident from the fact that hebben can be replaced by the semi-copular verb krijgen'to get' in (107c). Observe that, unlike the dialect construction in (105a), the Standard Dutch semi-copular construction is possible if the object contains a possessive pronoun.

The semi-copular and past perfect readings in (107a) are again subject to the familiar restrictions: use of punctual adverbs like gisteren, as in (108a), is only possible on the verbal/eventive reading of the participle, whereas addition of non-punctual adverbs like altijd in (105c) triggers the adjectival/state reading. Placing the participle after the finite verb in clause-final position, as in (108c), is only possible in the perfect-tense construction, that is, if the participle is verbal; this is clear from the fact that this construction is only compatible with punctual adverbial phrases like gisteren.