Resultative Adjective

Overview

A resultative adjective is a type of adjective that specifies the state of a noun or pronoun as a result of a particular action or event. It highlights the outcome or final condition achieved.

Key Concepts

Defining Resultative Adjectives

These adjectives are often found in constructions where they modify the object of a verb, indicating the state the object is in after the verb’s action is completed.

• They describe the state of being after a change.
• They are closely linked to the verb’s action.
• They often appear in serial verb constructions or with specific phrasal verbs.

Deep Dive

Grammatical Structure

Resultative constructions often involve a verb, its direct object, and the resultative adjective. For example, in “He painted the door red,” ‘red’ is the resultative adjective describing the state of ‘the door’ after being painted.

Consider other examples:

1. “She wiped the table clean.” (‘clean’ is the resultative adjective)
2. “They hammered the metal flat.” (‘flat’ is the resultative adjective)

Applications

Usage in Sentences

Resultative adjectives are common in everyday language, adding descriptive detail about the consequences of actions. They help convey information efficiently by combining the action and its outcome into a single phrase.

Challenges & Misconceptions

Distinguishing from Other Adjectives

It’s important to distinguish resultative adjectives from descriptive adjectives that simply describe an inherent quality. Resultative adjectives imply a change of state.

FAQs

What is the function of a resultative adjective?

Its primary function is to indicate the state or condition that a noun or pronoun achieves as a direct result of a verb’s action.

Are all adjectives resultative?

No, only those adjectives that denote the state resulting from an action are considered resultative.