Is this a verb phrase or simply an adjective?

The quote is usually attributed to him.

In the following sentence, does 'is...attributed' count as a verb phrase, or is 'attributed' simply a subject complement (as in '[t]he quote is usually attributed'), with 'to him' simply acting as a prepositional phrase?

I'm a little stuck!

Thanks in advance for any answers!

Solution 1:

The quote is usually attributed to him.

No: there's no subject complement. The verb phrase is the passive "is usually attributed to him", consisting of the verb "is" followed by the past-participial clause "attributed to him", functioning as complement of "is".

Note that this is called a 'short' passive due to the absence of a by phrase.