Paint It Blue, Talk Yourself Hoarse: Expressing a Result
By the end: I can distinguish a resulting state from a maintained or accompanying state.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Try the activities, then check your answers.
Choose a short recording.
Name the resulting state
An object followed by an adjective can describe the state caused by the action.
They painted the door blue.
She wiped the table clean.
Some actions need a reflexive object
In expressions such as talk yourself hoarse, the reflexive names the person affected by their own action.
I talked myself hoarse.
He shouted himself hoarse.
Result is not manner or maintenance
Painted blue gives a resulting colour. Painted carefully gives manner. Kept the door blue describes maintaining the state, not necessarily causing the original change.
They painted the door carefully.
They kept the door blue during the renovation.
Guided practice
Say or write your answer first. Compare form and meaning with the model.
1. Complete the result: They painted the fence ___. Use white.
Compare a model and explanation
white
An adjective names the resulting colour.
2. Complete: She wiped the desk ___. Use clean.
Compare a model and explanation
clean
Clean is the achieved state.
3. Complete: I talked ___ hoarse.
Compare a model and explanation
myself
The speaker is affected by their own action.
4. Complete: They shouted ___ hoarse.
Compare a model and explanation
themselves
Use the plural reflexive.
5. Contrast painted blue and painted carefully.
Compare a model and explanation
Blue is the result; carefully is the manner.
Do not confuse adjective and adverb roles.
6. Does kept the door open prove the person originally opened it?
Compare a model and explanation
No.
Keeping maintains a state; opening causes the change.
7. Correct the target resultative: I talked me hoarse.
Compare a model and explanation
I talked myself hoarse.
Use the reflexive in this construction.
8. Give one result and one manner description of the same action.
Compare a model and explanation
She wiped the table clean. She wiped it carefully.
The descriptions can coexist but do different work.
A short conversation
Listen first, then open the transcript when useful.
Open the conversation transcript
A: Did they paint the door blue?
B: Yes. They painted it carefully, then kept it blue when the walls changed.
A: And how was your presentation?
B: Long. I talked myself hoarse.
Listening checks
Listen to each extract or open its transcript. These three questions have a separate score.
Mastery quiz
Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.
Use it in your own words
Speaking 1
Describe two caused changes using resultative adjectives.
Reveal a possible response
They painted the fence white. She wiped the desk clean.
Success check: Name the affected object and resulting state.
Speaking 2
Contrast a caused state with a maintained state.
Reveal a possible response
She opened the gate. I kept it open.
Success check: Do not give the maintainer automatic credit for causing it.
Put it all together
Describe a small renovation using result, manner and maintenance, then add a conventional reflexive resultative.
Reveal a possible response
We carefully painted the room white. We kept it clean during the work. By the end of the discussion, I had talked myself hoarse.
Success check: Use established constructions rather than inventing arbitrary combinations.
Take it with you
I can distinguish a resulting state from a maintained or accompanying state.