I saw this sentence:
The tea tastes better if you drink it hot.
Since 'drink' is a verb, it really confused me why the adj 'hot' is used here rather than the adv 'hotly'?
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5The adverb modifies the verb 'drink'. One can drink slowly or drink clumsily or drink noisily but we are not equipped with heating equipment which would enable us to drink 'hotly'. It is the drink that is hot, not our drinking of it. So drink it (while it is) hot. 'Hot' is an adjective which describes 'it'. And welcome to EL&U. – Nigel J Mar 13 '18 at 16:32
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Thanks for your reply, @NigelJ . So this expression is actually an abbreviated form of 'drink it while it is hot', am I correct? – shyuu Mar 13 '18 at 16:39
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Yes. Or 'if you drink (the tea) hot'. Replace the pronoun 'it' with the subject that it represents. Then the adjective (hot) connects to the noun (tea) to which 'it' refers. – Nigel J Mar 13 '18 at 16:55
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1Possible duplicate of Can adjectives make adjuncts modifying verbs? This is a depictive construction, and has been covered here before. See Why adjective can be placed after 'eat' as in 'garlic can be eaten raw' also. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 13 '18 at 17:53
