Go up against enemies unprepared

Question

Hello.
I'm utterly confused with one sentence.

As for the sentence "Go up against enemies unprepared", I feel odd reading this.
Because unprepared here is an adjective, isn't it? I thought it would be better to use adverd instead,
"Go up against enemies unpreparedly" Does this sound wrong??
Because if the sentence can take an adjective, I think this follwing sentence is also acceptable.
? "Go up against enemies brave( not bravely)"

Or is this a special case? Like a phrasal verb etc...

I would be grateful if someone could help me understand this.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I'm utterly confused with one sentence.

As for the sentence "Go up against enemies unprepared", I feel odd reading this.

Because unprepared here is an adjective, isn't it? I thought it would be better to use adverd instead,

"Go up against enemies unpreparedly" Does this sound wrong??

Because if the sentence can take an adjective, I think this follwing sentence is also acceptable.

? "Go up against enemies brave( not bravely)"

Or is this a special case? Like a phrasal verb etc...

I would be grateful if someone could help me understand this.

"Go up against enemies unpreparedly" This isn't wrong. But it sounds awkward.

"Go up against enemies unprepared" 'Unprepared' here is an adjective. You can interpret it as describing 'enemies', or as describing the person to whom this order is being given, in which case it could be reworded as "Unprepared, go up against enemies". The context will usually make the intended meaning clear.

This kind of wording is not common. It sounds literary, dramatic, even theatrical or biblical.

"Go up against enemies brave" This isn't wrong. But, as I said above, such wording is uncommon.

Clive

Shanks8532 · Answer

Thank you very much for your answer.Very kind of you!

I haven't learnt this type of grammer before and I thought it might be precisely correct.
"Go up against enemies unprepared",
was originally written as follows.
someone told a guy
" This is what you get for going up agaist enemies unprepared" .
Sorry I omitted that's why it must have been difficult for you to understand the exact context. As you said as describing the person to whom this order is being given is this cas, I guess.

I've got some more questions about this usage.

1. Was this kind of usage of adjective common even in the old days or is this mordern English?

2. Can any adjective be used in this usage?
Like
A) I fell asleep hungry.

B) He went to fight brave.
C) I met him happy.
D) This is what you get for going up against enemies naked.
E) She ate the dinner excited.

I feel No.C and E sound wrong but if so, could you please explain the difference between OK usage and NG usage??

Thank you so much in advance.
Yoshi

Avangi · Answer

Hi, Yoshi,
I think the form "to do something" plus adjective is close to being an idiom, and the particular wordings are either used or not used on a case by case basis.

He went to bed hungry.
He went (somewhere) unprepared.
We came out alive.
She drove home sleepy.
We all ended up rich.
We went swimming naked.
She came home drunk.
He showed up late.
We left the restaurant stuffed.
We left the concert refreshed/inspired/disgusted.

A) I fell asleep hungry.

B) He went to fight brave.
C) I met him happy.
D) This is what you get for going up against enemies naked.
E) She ate the dinner excited.

I don't personally remember hearing any of these.

Shanks8532 · Answer

I'm sorry I'm late in reply. Thank you very much for your various examples.
I understood what you meant. I try to remember them as idioms case by case!

CalifJim · Answer

Shanks8532remember them as idioms case by case!

You'll almost have to. These highly idiosyncratic expressions are all over the map in terms of appropriateness of usage. It's easy to make up thousands of them that are all completely unnatural in English even though grammatically correct!

CJ

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