A resultative is a phrase that indicates the state of a noun resulting from the completion of the verb. In the English examples below, the resultative phrase is shown in bold and the affected noun is in italics:

• John licked his plate clean.
• Mary painted the fence blue.
• The cold weather froze the lake solid.

Subjects of passive and unaccusative verbs may also participate in resulative constructions:

• Passive: The well was drained dry.
• Unaccusative: The door swung open.

Subjects of unergative verbs may also participate in resultative constructions, but a "dummy object", that is, an otherwise absent reflexive pronoun must be inserted:

• Gordon laughed himself helpless.
• The child screamed itself hoarse.