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Where is a verb in "a troll out cold with a bloody lump on its head"

English Language & Usage Asked by Daniel Vartanov on May 9, 2021

a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a
bloody lump on its head

This is a quote from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (emphasis mine). I wonder whether the two words "out cold" is an adjective or "out" is a verb? Sorry I’m really confused how to read this phrase.

One Answer

The whole portion you have emphasized is an adjective phrase, an adjective clause with the subject pronoun and verb omitted; here's the full sentence as context for other readers:

Eyes watering, they saw, flat on the floor in front of them, a troll even larger than the one they had tackled, out cold with a bloody lump on its head.

You can parse this as "...they saw, ... a troll" and the extra phrases all modify the object "a troll". In the specific case you're interested in, you can imagine adding "which was", so "... they saw, ... a troll ... which was out cold with a bloody lump on its head"

"out cold" is a phrase meaning, as the comment suggests, unconscious

Correct answer by Jay Taves on May 9, 2021

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