[Grammar] cold tea/tea cold

[Kotfor]

Is there a difference in meaning between

1) I like to drink cold tea.
2) I like to drink tea cold.

 

[emsr2d2]

Is there a difference in meaning between

1) I like to drink cold tea.
2) I like to drink tea cold.

You can use both. They simply means that you like to drink cold tea instead of hot tea. You might mean iced tea or that you wait until your tea has gone cold.

The second is certainly less common and I would expect to hear "I like to drink my tea cold" but the addition of "my" is not obligatory.

I eat curry cold the next morning.
He eats pork pies cold.
They eat spaghetti bolognese cold.

The outcome is the same - the food/drink is cold when it is consumed.

 

[Kotfor]

Oh, I see. Isn't there a difference like in

(1) Every visible star is named after a famous astronomer.
(2) Every star visible is named after a famous astronomer.

 

[emsr2d2]

Oh, I see. Isn't there a difference like in

(1) Every visible star is named after a famous astronomer.
(2) Every star visible is named after a famous astronomer.

Not really, no. With those two examples, you are specifying a particular set of stars within a bigger set. With the examples about tea, both of them say that you are prepared to drink cold tea.

The two sentences you posted originally would be used to answer two different questions:

1) Q: What do you like to drink?
A: I like to drink cold tea.

2) Q: How do you like to drink tea?
A: I like to drink tea cold.

"Cold tea" behaves like a compound noun, if you like. "...tea cold" treats "tea" as a noun and then adds "cold" as supplementary information in the form of an adjective.