A Second Description of a Participant
A supplementary predicate describes a participant while a full verb expresses the event. Its agreement helps identify whom it describes.
How It Works
Compare vratila se tiha, describing the woman as quiet, with vratila se tiho, describing how she returned. A participant-oriented adjective agrees with that participant; an adverb does not gain gender endings.
The extra description may refer to an object: Zatekli smo vrata otvorena. Both vrata and otvorena are neuter plural forms in the object relationship. The person who finds them is not the one described as open.
Keep the relationship clear when several nouns are nearby. Supplementary descriptions can also be expressed by verbal adverbs, but these introduce an additional action and carry their own subject-control requirements.
Examples (3)
- Petra se vratila umorna.
Petra returned tired.
- Našli smo dječaka samog.
We found the boy alone.
- Gosti su otišli zadovoljni.
The guests left satisfied.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A secondary description agrees with a participant already identified in the main clause.
Related Patterns
- Case After a Linking Verb
Contrast a linking predicate with a description accompanying another event.
Level 4 - Avoiding a Dangling Participle
Additional actions expressed by verbal adverbs must have a clear subject.
Level 6 - A Property or a Passive Event
Compare an adjective-like property with a passive event.
Level 5
Practice A Second Description of a Participant in Bubblegum
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