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I heard that we can use "Hope this email finds you well."... But, can I say "I hope you find this email well" as a greeting? I know it has a different meaning, but still, can I say it?

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    No. Saying that means that you hope that they find the email itself well.
    – FeliniusRex - gone
    Feb 9 at 17:58
  • What do you mean by it? Do you hope that the email is well (healthy)? Do you hope they were able to find the email without much effort?
    – Stuart F
    Feb 9 at 18:38
  • I'm leaving this question open because it's not a request for proofreading. It's asking about "something in particular", as the close reason suggests it should.
    – gotube ♦
    Feb 24 at 20:32

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No. While 'secondary predication' constructions are well known

  • He drove the car drunk (depictive; subject-orientated)
  • He ate the prawns raw (depictive; object-orientated) (plus resultative examples),

there are semantic restrictions on allowable examples. Thus

  • *He drove the car infected
  • *He drove the car blue [before it was resprayed in red]

are unidiomatic.

.........................

  • We found Helen well when we visited her

is fine if a little dated.

  • Hoping this card/email ... finds you well

is quirky but idiomatic.

But

  • I hope you find this card/email ... well

is not an acceptable subject-orientated example.

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I personally haven't seen this phrase, and I write/receive a ton of emails per day. I recommend sticking with "I hope this email finds you well." It rolls off the tongue better, plus the other phrase sounds a bit off.

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