The children sat mute in the corner of the room.
這裏sit是壹個不及物動詞,而mute(a.沈默的)是壹個主語的補足語,它說明了主語(children)的狀態。mute和sit兩個單詞本身在句子中的位置沒有必然聯系,也因此sit並不是系動詞。它的位置可以變動如下:
The children sat in the corner of the room, mute.
Mute, the children sat in the corner of the room.
形容詞作主語補足語形成壹個無動詞分句插入在句子中,它的位置壹般在實意動詞後、句子開頭和末尾,說明主語的狀態。例如:
In a cold winter evening, all money stolen, thousands of meters far from home, they sat in a corner of the city, cold and hungry, trembling and praying for someone to rescue them.
He made it home, exsausted.
Nervous, he entered the police station.