Help me as to whether this sentence is correct English
They escaped from the prison safe.
1. Is this sentence correct English?
2. Is "safe" an adjective complementing "they"?
Top answer
1. Yes, it's fine, at least grammatically so. 2.
- 1.
- Yes, it's fine, at least grammatically so.
- 2.
- Not quite.
- It's a 'predicative adjunct': an adjunct because it's a modifier in the verb phrase, and predicative because it refers to a predicand, "they".
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1. Yes, it's fine, at least grammatically so.
2. Not quite.
It's a 'predicative adjunct': an adjunct because it's a modifier in the verb phrase, and predicative because it refers to a predicand, "they".
Other similar examples include:
They left empty-handed.
He died young.
They served the coffee b
0fire1They escaped from the prison safe.
Not directly related to your question, but if you intend to use this sentence for real, be aware that it has an incongruous and, for me, intrusive alternative interpretation that they escaped from a safe (secure container for storing valuable items) within the prison. For this reason, I would not personally recommend
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