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The Mikhail Sholokov novel "Тихий Дон" (Quiet Don) is translated "And quiet flows the Don". In this title, is the word "quiet" an adjective or adverb?

If it's an adverb modifying the verb "flows", why doesn't it take the normal adverb form "quietly"?

Is it possible to say it is a predicate adjective, and "flows" is a copular verb? If so, are there other cases loke this?

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I would describe it as a adjective functioning as complement, rather than as predicate (I don't think you can really call "flows" copular, even if it has been inserted by the translator).

This is a rather poetic construction, which leads me to

Green grow the rushes O!

But I haven't thought of any other examples.

Colin Fine
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    "Do not go gentle into that good night" (Dylan Thomas). – fdb May 06 '16 at 12:43
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    "Where the Sun Set Crimson and the Moon Rose Red" https://muse.jhu.edu/article/424286/pdf – Yellow Sky May 06 '16 at 21:23
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  • Why have you described it as a complement instead of an adjunct/modifier? It looks like a depictive adjunct to me ... Some people might describe it as a secondary predicate, but I can't see how it can be a complement? (scratches head) – Araucaria - him May 12 '16 at 07:26
  • @Araucaria, I described it as that because the structure seems to me to be similar to what it would be if the verb were a copula; but I have no particlar theoretical justification in mind. If it is an adjunct, what is it adjoined to? – Colin Fine May 12 '16 at 20:56
  • @ColinFine So the second bit of a copula is a complement because the verb in question sets up a special slot for that phrase. In contrast an 'adjunct' or 'modifier' or 'adverbial' is an extra bit that we can tag on to a clause or a phrase. I don't know why they chose the term adjunct apart from that it's a phrase that's just 'stuck next to' something. So in "She is in the park" the phrase "in the park" is a complement of the verb BE - because such copula verbs set up a space for a complement describing the subject. But in "She plays football in the park" the PP in the park is an adjunct .. – Araucaria - him May 12 '16 at 21:03
  • @ColinFine ... because the verb play doesn't set up a special place for a location. It does set up a space for what's being played though. So football is a complement there (direct objects are a special type of complement). Erm, I'm trying to make sense but don't know if I am? – Araucaria - him May 12 '16 at 21:04
  • @Araucaria: I meant, what is it an adjunct to: I wasn't trying to be cute about the etymology of 'adjunct'. But as I say, I'm not attached to the idea of its being a complement; that's just the structure that occurred to me. It's not common to have an adjective as an adjunct, as far as I can think; but then this is not a common construction. – Colin Fine May 12 '16 at 21:06
  • @Araucaria Yes, you're making sense, and I'm happy to defer to your suggestion. – Colin Fine May 12 '16 at 21:07
  • @ColinFine Ah, so in the sentence "You can eat garlic raw" the adjective raw is an adjunct (it doesn't fill a special slot set up be EAT). So is naked in You can eat pizza naked. You're right that adjectives that don't modify nouns are most often complements (it seems to me). But this one isn't - I don't think - in this case. – Araucaria - him May 12 '16 at 21:09
  • @ColinFine Sorry for the cross-commenting. – Araucaria - him May 12 '16 at 21:10