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I found myself stuck in the snow.
What does the verb "found" mean here? Does it mean (1) "came to realize" OR (2) "found as discovered"?
If it means "came to realize", I find it difficult to understand that the object of realize is myself. Could you help me clarify it? Thank you always.
If you look at the entry for find in the Cambridge Dictionary, you will see that there is a separate definition for find yourself
to realize that you are in a particular situation or place, or doing a particular thing, when you did not intend to.
The verb is followed by a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves) and then something to describe the situation- generally prepositional phrase or participial phrase.
With his supporters dropping out, he found himself in an untenable position - prepositional phrase
When the tide came in, I found myself trapped in the cave. - participial phrase- passsive/past participleShe somehow took a wrong turn, and found herself driving the wrong way down a one-way street. - participial phrase- active participle
In a way, I'd say both... Here "found" means "to be" but with a slight degree of surprise because it was sort of unexpected. You can replace "found" by "got" if you want : I got stuck in the snow. It's rather commonplace to use "I found myself...(+ somewhere / in a certain position)" I would say it sort of implies "Much to my surprise/Unexpectedly, I got..."
That's how I see it. I'd be glad to get any other feedback on that though.
