Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[ShoHiro]

Dear teachers,

I would like to know whether sentences of (2) are acceptable or not. I am concerned with quasi predicates, such as italic phrases in (1):

(1) a. John ate the meat raw.
b. I drank my coffee Irish.
c. John bought the desk broken.

Are sentences of (2), which is modified by the relative pronoun, acceptable?

(2) a. The meat John ate raw was very expensive.
b. The coffee I drank Irish tastes good.
c. The desk John bought broken was very expensive.

Sincerely,
ShoHiro

[Lorikeet]

a and c in each category are fine to me. I don't like "I drank my coffee Irish." Perhaps it is because "Irish coffee" to me is one thing. Anyway, I don't like "b" in either example.

[ShoHiro]

Dear Lorikeet,

Thank you very much for answering my question.

I see. (1b) does not sound good to you.

Sincerely,
ShoHiro

[Lorikeet]

2(b) doesn't either