Learn English – the difference between “bicyclist” and “cyclist”

Think of it this way…

If the lid takes 3 turns to remove, then only the first 'grab' will loosen it, but after that it still needs unscrewing the other 2.9 turns

To actually ask someone, either version would probably do - they'd be aware that you were asking because you were having difficulty with that first part, not that you couldn't be bothered with the other 2.9 turns ;-)

"Could you open this for me?" would also work just fine, by the same assumption.

When a verb has no object, we call it intransitive:

Shoes wear out.

When a verb takes an object, we call it transitive:

Running on concrete wore out his knees.

"His knees" is the object. "Running on concrete" is the subject.

We can "flip" a transitive verb in the active voice (see the sentence about "knees" above) and make it a passive construction:

His knees were worn out by running on concrete.

We can omit the agent (that which performs the action):

His knees were worn out.

Something wore his knees out, but we don't know what it was. Was he a fireman who climbed ladders all day? In this form, we're basically saying his knees are in certain state or condition, since the agent is unexpressed.