Is this an objective complement or adjective phrase?


In ‘catch me off guard’, is the ‘off guard’ an objective complement or adjective phrase that modifies ‘me’?



My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight.




Answer



At http://media.leidenuniv.nl/legacy/console17-asada.pdf is an in-depth discussion of structures involving object complements (which structures are also said by some to involve secondary predication) . I'll just quote the introduction, which I believe gives a clear and valid classification (though the rest of the article goes on to recommend alternative analyses!):


Secondary predication is commonly classified into the two types of constructions –– depictives and resultatives –– illustrated in (1) and (2) respectively.


(1) Depictives a. John left the room angry. ‘subject-oriented’
b. John ate the fish raw. ‘object-oriented’


(2) Resultatives
John hammered the metal flat.


So the 'catch me off guard' example would be classified as 'depictive' and 'object-orient[at]ed'. 'Raw' is obviously an adjective modifying 'fish', and correspondingly, 'off guard' (or 'off my guard', equally acceptable) is what some would call a multi-word adjective , and some would label an adjectival - a string doing the job of an adjective (and some would include adjectives as a sub-set of adjectivals).


There can often be some valid soul-searching as to whether a modifier is truly modifying a nearby noun or a nearby verb (if either):


The striker shot wide. (adverb or adjective?)


He is a mere youth. (Are some youths not mere?) He is merely a youth. (Is there any significant difference in meaning from the previous version?)


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