happy / happily

[Allifathima]

1. "At least they died happy."
In this sentence, 'happy'(adj) comes after 'died'(v).
No where adjective modifies the verb.
See the second sentence:
"They all lived happily ever after."
Could you please explain the grammar points involved in this?
Thanks a lot.
Mrs. Alli

[Mister Micawber]

The grammar point is that the different parts of speech indicate different conditions:

He died happy = He was happy [about the sunshine or his new hat, perhaps] at the moment he died.
He died happily = He was happy that he was dying.

'They all lived happily ever after' is as much a fixed expression as an arguing point for its grammar.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Allifathima]

Mister Micawber,
You have given explanation as below.
He died(v) happy(adj) = He was happy [about the sunshine or his new hat, perhaps]
at the moment he died.
But you didn't give grammatical explanation how an adjective is allowed
to modify a verb.
Can I say in the above pattern : "Sita sings(v) beautiful(adj)/happy(adj)."?
Since I am confusing, I forwarding my argument.
Could you please clarify me well.
Thanks a lot.
Mrs. Alli

[Mister Micawber]

He died(v) happy(adj) = He was happy [about the sunshine or his new hat, perhaps]
at the moment he died. But you didn't give grammatical explanation how an adjective is allowed to modify a verb. -- The adjective does not modify the verb; it modifies the subject 'he'.
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Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Hanifasmm]

"Sita sings(v) beautiful(adj)/happy(adj)."
In this sentence does the adjective - 'beautiful'(adj) or 'happy'(adj) modify the subject - 'Sita'?
Could you please enlighten me?
Thanks.

[Alan]

Hi Hanifasmm,

In your sentence you have to ask yourself, does the word describe Sita herself or her singing? The answer is - the singing and that's why you need the adverb 'beautifully'. If you wanted to describe Sita, you would use the adjective 'beautiful'.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple