3.156 Describing as well as talking about an action: other verbs with complements

Some intransitive verbs can be used with adjectives after them in the same way as link verbs.

• George stood motionless for at least a minute.
• Pugin died insane at the early age of forty.

However, it is clear that these verbs are not just link verbs. 'George stood motionless' does not mean the same as 'George was motionless'. In the sentence 'George stood motionless', the verb 'stand' is performing two functions: it is telling us that George was standing, and it is also acting as a link verb between 'George' and the complement 'motionless'.

Here is a list of verbs which can be used in this way:

• hang, lie, sit, stand, --- , gaze, stare, --- , emerge, escape, go, pass, survive, --- , blush, flame, gleam, glow, run, --- , be born, die, return

Ways in which these verbs can be used with complements are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Adjectives are sometimes used in combination with other verbs, but are separated from the main clause by a comma. This use is dealt with in paragraph 8.135.