An adjective is commonly placed before the noun that it modifies. In the examples below, the adjective modifies the state of the object noun. The adjective is descriptive of the existing state of the noun.
Larry washed the car. It is a clean car now.
Larry wiped the car. It is a dry car now.
Larry painted the car. It is a blue car now.
Larry pushed the door. It is an open door now.
~Larry pushed the open door.
With a particular group of transitive verbs, an adjective can be placed after the object noun to express its resulting state after the action is taken. The meaning expresses "so that it became".
Larry washed the car clean. (it became clean)
Larry wiped the car dry. (it became dry)
Larry painted the car blue. (it ended up blue)
Larry pushed the door open. (it became open)
Adjective complements — also called verbal NP complements , or object complements
Resultative — a form that expresses that something or someone has undergone a change in state as the result of the completion of an event.
(Huddleston 4 5.4 "complex transitives with resultatives") (Swan 606.1 "Adjective and Noun Complements")
The thief blew the safe wide-open .
He boiled the egg hard. the yolk became hard
They bored us stiff.
She brushed the tablecloth flat.
The pirate buried his treasure deep.
Ted cracked the nut open.
She cropped the picture small.
She cut my hair short.
She did him wrong. (See slang "do".)
He drained the bathtub dry.
They filed her nails smooth.
He filled the bottle full. to the top
He finished his plate clean.
She found the car clean. (unexpected) See want v. find.
He frightened us silly.
The cold weather froze the water solid.
She got her car clean/ warm/ ready. (self labor)
She got her car cleaned (service) See have, get, make.
She had her car cleaned. (service) See have, get, make.
He hammered the nail flat/ down.
They jerked the door open / closed.
They knocked him senseless / flat / unconscious.
They made the problem worse. See have, get, make.
His parents named him George.
Let's paint the table white / red / blue.
The carpenter planed the wood smooth.
They pulled the door open / closed.
They pushed the door open / closed.
She rubbed the cat dry.
They shot him dead.
He squashed the bug flat.
She wants the car clean. (preferred state)
She wants the car cleaned. (would like as a service) See want v. find.
He washed his clothes clean / spotless.
She wiped the table dry / clean.
NP (noun phrase) – a noun with determiners and modifiers: He washed the big, blue car clean.
The above is different from "He likes his steak (to be) medium rare." (Huddleston 265)
An adjective placed before the noun describes the existing state of the noun. (pre-nominal adjective, pre-position modifier)
Larry wiped the clean car. (Clean describes the car.)
The wind blew his dry hair.
~Harry boiled the hard egg. (an ostrich egg?)
*He cracked the open egg.
An adjective placed after the predicate (verb) and object describes the resulting state of the noun after performing the activity expressed by the verb. (post-nominal adjective, post-position modifier)
Larry wiped the car clean. ( Clean is the resulting state.)
The wind blew his hair dry.
She boiled the egg hard.
He cracked the egg open.
* not used / ~ questionable usage
Also see Participle Modifier Positioning (existing vs. resulting state).
An adverb is placed after the object. It expresses the manner in which the action was performed. How?
He washed the car thoroughly. completely
Larry wiped the car carefully
He painted the car expertly.
He pushed the door gently.
He got the car cleverly. ( got — came to own it, took possession of)
A resultative adjective is placed after the object. It expresses the effect of the action on the noun—its final state (description). What was the result?
He washed the car clean. It is a clean car now.
Larry wiped the car dry. It is a dry car now.
Larry painted the car white. It is a white car now.
Larry pushed the door open. It is an open door now.
Larry got the car ready. It is a ready car now.
The verbs want, like, would like, and prefer can be used to express a desire for a service with a resulting state. The modifier is often a past participle modifier.
She wants her car cleaned / clean.
She wants her car to be cleaned.
She would like her car repaired.
She wants her car to be repaired.
She prefers the windows rolled down / down.
She wants them to be down.
The verb found expresses the state that is experienced or encountered by the person. The state may be unexprected—good or bad. (The item already exists in this state.)
She found the car clean. She found that the car was clean. (in a clean state)
She found the car ready. She found that the car was ready, (in a ready-for-use state)
She found the engine noisy. She found that the engine was noisy.
Verbs have and get are used for having someone else do something. have/get + obj + participial adjective
She had her car cleaned. Someone else caused it to happen. (service)
She got her car repaired. Someone else causes it to happen. (service)
Verbs get and make are used for causing something to happen. make/get + obj + adjective
She got her carpet clean. She worked until it was done. It was difficult. (self)
She made/got the kids ready for bed. She caused it to happen. (self)
These expressions (and other similar ones with good, bad, wrong and right ) appear to include adjective complements.
He done her wrong. informal
She done him good. very informal
Do it right. informal
You did us proud. informal
The adjective state results from the action of the verb on the direct object.
He did it so that it wronged her. unjustly treated
She did it so that it pleased him. sexually, as in John Lennon's "Don't Let Me Down."
Do it so that it is right. (Do it correctly / morally.)
You did it so that it made us proud.
*She heated the milk warm.
*He sang the song beautiful.
*They named him , he's George.
She heated the milk until it was warm.
Because this verb does not follow this pattern, use a "result phrase" such as until it ___, so that it ___.
He sang the song beautifully. in the manner
He sang the song so that it was beautiful. result
Use an adverb to express how the action was done instead of an adjective for its resulting state.
They named him George. Remove the extra pronoun.
They named him. He is George. Or rewrite it as two sentences.
*Yellow highlighting indicates example of incorrect usage.
Jamal rented a new office for his accounting business. However, the office needed some work before he could move in. First, he painted the white walls because he prefers them to be white. Next, he picked out new light fixtures and hung them secure from the ceiling. Then, he found some pictures that he liked at a garage sale. They were dusty so he wiped them cleanly with a cloth. The frames were old, so he had the pictures reframed. When he hung them on the wall, he liked them. His work made him proudly. Next, he added window treatments. Next, He ordered some new blinds and installed them carefully. He hung the blinds straightly. Jamal went to the nursery and bought two tall plants and two brass pots. He polished the pots brightly, and carefully placed a plant inside each pot.
Then, Jamal went to a flea market and found a wonderful old wood desk with a chair. He refinished them and replaced the hardware. Then, he made a seat cushion for the chair and tied it on securely. He stood back and looked contentedly. Jamal found the floor empty in appearance. It needed something like a rug. He made a deal with the storekeeper next door. He agreed to do his accounting for a year in exchange for a rug. Jamal laid the rug flatly and admired its colors. Finally, Jamal washed the windows cleanly and hung up his sign proudly. He was ready for business. When the first customers arrived, Jamal pulled the door open and welcomed them warmly. He worked hard and managed his business good.
accounting (N) – the system of recording and summarizing business and financial transactions and analyzing, verifying, and reporting the results
DIY – (Adj) a do-it-yourself person prefers to do things without employing services
garage sale (NP) – a small one or two day sale of low-priced, used household items that are displayed in someone's yard or garage
reframed (V) – make a new structure of wood, metal, plastic etc that surrounds something such as a picture or window
Related page Word Form Exceptions hard, fast, good, loud, etc.
