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I have read about SVC sentences like "we all feel sorry for him".

Can I also write: The trunk wrinkled old and dry.

As wrinkle is not a linking verb so is it incorrect? Is there any other kind of sentence structure (other than SVC)that take action verb and subject complement?

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    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 6:11

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You are correct that this is not a sentence; "wrinkled", "old", and "dry" are all adjectives describing the trunk, and you'd need additional words to turn it into a sentence whilst retaining these three adjectives. For example: "The trunk was wrinkled, old, and dry."

Alternatively, a verb such as "seemed" or "looked" could be substituted for "wrinkled" in your original expression.

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  • You could interpret wrinkled as a linking verb, making this a sentence, although it's an unusual usage and not very idiomatic.
    – stangdon
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 11:18
  • @standgdon, so could I use the sentence structure SVOC and change the sentence as : The infection wrinkled the trunk old and dry.
    – Learner
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 13:32
  • Does this sentence make sense?
    – Learner
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 13:33
  • @stangdom, another example in the same manner: the branches drooped weaker. Does this also make sense? I have read that certain verbs are used in SVOC structure and I am not sure if we can use "wrinkle" and "droop" in this structure.
    – Learner
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 14:06
  • @Learner I think your examples make sense, but they are not particularly idiomatic, and seem slightly "poetic".
    – stangdon
    Commented Sep 24, 2021 at 11:37

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