Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ShoHiro]

Dear teachers,

Sometimes, adjectives can be posed in the sentence-final position as in (a)

(1) a. He ate the meat raw.
b. He left the room angry.

With such expressions, is the following expression acceptable?

(2) I drank my coffee hot, though it was cold.

For example, suppose the following situation: I ordered hot coffee. But it was cold because the pot didn't work, which the waiters didn't notice. Of course, other situation could work.

I have another question.

(3) He cooked the meat dry.

Does this sentence mean that he cooked the meat without water? That is, dry in (3) can be paraphrased as without water?

Sincerely,

ShoHiro

[Lorikeet]

[ShoHiro]

Dear Lorikeet,

Thank you very much for the lucid answer.

Can the sentence (1), which you told me, be simpler?

(1) I drank my coffee hot, but yesterday the restaurant made a mistake and I drank it even though it was cold.

How about the followings?

(2) a. I drank my coffee hot, though it was not so hot.
b. I drank my coffee hot. But the coffee is very cold!

With the sentence (3), even if some appropriate contexts are given, is it impossible to interpret dry as without water?

(3) He cooked the meat dry.


Best wishes,
ShoHiro

[Lorikeet]

[ShoHiro]

Dear Lorikeet,

Thank you very much for the immediate answer. It is very helpful.

I see your point. I thought it was a typo.

Given "I drank my coffee hot," but not "I drink my coffee hot," does the sentence (1) sound odd?

(1) I drank my coffee hot, but the cup was frozen (I don't know why) and coffee itself was very cold.

Let me ask another question, which is the final question. Is the following sentence acceptable?


(2) I drank my coffee black, although the color of it was white (I don't know why).

Sincerely,
ShoHiro

[Lorikeet]

[ShoHiro]

Dear Lorikeet,

Thank you very much. And I'm sorry for reponding late.

The example you presented me is insightful. I see your point.

ShoHiro