cracked open

[Ferdie11]

He cracked open a gourd, dipped his finger in the liquid, and made a special mark on the infant's forehead.

I am confused about the function of speech of the words "cracked" and "open" in the sentence above.

Please help me with this.

Please tell me if there are any errors in my post.

[Ferdie11]

Would you please answer this question.

Thanks!

[ptetpe]

A "resulting copula" with idiomatic adj complement.
other examples: spring open, slam shut.

source: CGEL p.1172

[Ferdie11]

I thought we can't modify the verbs with adjective, as in this example.

[gabber]

"He opened it by cracking it."

[Ferdie11]

So, I can say:

I cracked open some fresh eggs every morning. - Is this correct?

[ptetpe]

So, I can say:

I cracked open some fresh eggs every morning. - Is this correct?

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/crack[1]

[svartnik]

A "resulting copula" with idiomatic adj complement.
other examples: spring open, slam shut.

source: CGEL p.1172

A gourd was cracked open.

What is the copula in this sentence, IYO?
-------
The sun shone bright.

What does 'bright' do here?

[ptetpe]

A gourd was cracked open.

What is the copula in this sentence, IYO?
-------
The sun shone bright.

What does 'bright' do here?

I believe we are using the same grammar book and I can add no more than what Quirk has said on p.737,where you took the sample sentence from.

Sorry, mate. out of my depth.

[svartnik]

I believe we are using the same grammar book and I can add no more than what Quirk has said on p.737,where you took the sample sentence from.

Sorry, mate. out of my depth.

Hands on heart I did not take the example sentences from there. Besides, I cannot find them there.

out of my depth.

So am I.

A gourd was cracked open. -- In this sentence the copula is 'was' in my opinion. What is 'cracked open' then? 'cracked open' is an adjectival idiom which has unitary meaning.

(these ideas were not taken from CGEL)

The sun shone. -- not a copular use of shone
The sun shone bright -- copular use to describe the sun
The sun shone brightly -- no copular use; brightly describes action

You agree?