The phrase "are taken" is spelled using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as /ɑr teɪkən/. The diagraph "ar" represents the phoneme /ɑr/, which is pronounced as a combination of the open back unrounded vowel /ɑ/ and the rhotic consonant /r/. The letter "e" represents the schwa sound /ə/, which is an unstressed and neutral vowel. The final letter "n" is a silent consonant, indicating that the word should be pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable.
"Are taken" is a verb phrase that consists of the auxiliary verb "are" and the regular verb "taken." This phrase is derived from the base form verb "to take." The term "are taken" is used to describe the action of someone or something being carried, obtained, or acquired by another person or entity.
In this phrase, "are" is the present tense of the auxiliary verb "be," indicating the subject's state of being. "Taken" is the past participle form of the verb "take," which indicates that the action of taking has already occurred.
The meaning of "are taken" depends on the context in which it is used. It can refer to physical objects being removed or borrowed, such as when someone takes a book from a shelf. Additionally, it can indicate the act of capturing or seizing something or someone, like when the police take a suspect into custody.
Furthermore, "are taken" can be used in a more abstract sense, to express the acquisition of intangible things. For instance, when someone's comments or actions are taken into consideration, it means that they are being acknowledged and accounted for in a decision-making process.
In summary, "are taken" is a phrase that denotes the act of something or someone being obtained, removed, captured, or considered, depending on the given context.
The phrase "are taken" is not a standalone word, but rather a combination of the verb "are" and the past participle form of the verb "take". Therefore, it is more appropriate to examine the etymology of the word "take".
The verb "take" originated from the Old English word "tacan" which means "to grasp, obtain, or seize". It can be traced back to the Proto-Germanic word "takanan" and the Proto-Indo-European root "deh₃-", meaning "to take" or "to accept". Variations of the word "take" exist in other Germanic languages as well.
Over time, the word "take" has evolved and gained various meanings and forms, including "took" (past tense) and "taken" (past participle).