一.形容词一般用法：作定语、表语、宾语补足语
形容词在句中常见的用法是：
修饰名词或代词作定语，例如，A beautiful girl ；
放在系动词后面作表语，例如，The dish tastes delicious；
放在宾语后面作宾语补足语， 例如，We should keep our dormitory clean every day。
像这样这样句子“The man spent five days in the heavy rain, hungry and cold”，在这个句子中“hungry and cold”，很明显这词组在这个句子中既不是作定语、表语，也不可能作宾语补足语，而类似这样的句子，大家经常在阅读文章中碰到，但不知道形容词在这样类似的句中作用与功能。其实上面这句话“The man spent five days in the heavy rain, hungry and cold”中的形容词“hungry and cold”在句中作状语修饰动词“spent”，“又冷又饿地度过了五天”。又如，Everybody is created equal (人生来就是平等的，这里形容词equal修饰create）。实际上高考中已经出现了类似考点。
二.形容词特殊用法-作状语
形容词或形容词短语作状语的前提条件是表达主语的状态，否则形容不能用于作状语
例如，
I came back home, tired and hungry.
After 10 hours of driving, he got home, safe.
注意：上面这两句中的tired and hungry，safe,都在句子中作状语，都表达主语的一种状态。
形容词作状语使用情况如下：
1.形容词或形容词短语作状语，表原因一般放在句首
例如，
Too nervous to reply, he stared at the floor.
他紧张得不能答话,只是凝视着地板。（原因状语）
Glad to accept, the boy nodded his agreement.
这个男孩很高兴接受,点头表示同意。（原因状语）
Full of enthusiasm, they make great progress each day.
他们充满热情，每天进展神速。（原因状语）
Hungry and tired, I entered a restaurant and had a bowl of noodles.
又饿又累，我走进一家餐馆，吃了一碗面条。（原因状语）
Old and slow, she was not in time for the bus. 她年纪大，行动迟缓，没能赶上公共汽车。
Hungry, she hurried to the kitchen.
她感到很饿,就匆匆地去了厨房。
Easy to get along with, she is loved by everyone.
她很容易相处，深受大家的喜爱。（原因状语）
Eager for an immediate reply, he sent me another email.
渴望立刻得到答复,他又给我发了一封电子邮件。
Sad and unhappy, cold and wet , Lear became mad. 悲伤不快,又湿又冷,利尔疯了。
Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, “Carl, what are you doing?” 牧师感到非常纳闷，于是略带一些关心地问道：“卡尔，你在干什么？”
Strong, proud and united, the people of St Parkersburg are the modern heroes of Russia.
圣彼得堡的人民坚强、自豪、团结一致，他们是当代的俄罗斯英雄。
Afraid of bad publicity, the department had suddenly become very twitchy about journalists. 该部门害怕有媒体的负面宣传，在面对记者时突然变得焦躁不安。
Curious about how the gadget works, he broke it down. 由于对这个小玩意儿的工作原理很好奇，他把它拆开了。
The dogs were straining at the leash, eager to get to the park. 几条狗用力拽着皮带，急于要去公园。
Unable to afford the time, I had to give up the plan. 我抽不出时间，只好放弃这个计划
Disappointed at the result, he turned to his teacher for help. 对结果感到失望，他向老师求助。
2.作时间状语、条件状语、评注状语。
Ripe，these apples are sweet.
这些苹果熟了的时候是很甜的。（时间）
Don’t marry young. 不要早婚。
Learn young, learn fair.
学习趁年轻，要学就学好。
Enthusiastic, they are quite co-operative. 热心的时候他们是很合作的。
Fresh from the open , rolls are delicious. ( = lf they are fresh from the oven, rolls...)
面包卷如果是刚出炉的,是很香的。（条件）
More important, education must be in line with the requirements of our growing economy.
更重要的是教育事业必须同经济发展需求相适应。(评注状语）
Strange to say, I don't really enjoy television.
说来奇怪，我不大喜欢看电视。
The problem, needless to say, is the cost involved.
不用说，问题是所涉及的费用。
Worse still, such ploys are often undetectable.
更糟糕地是，这样的伎俩往往探测不到。
We found the apple pie pudding too good to resist. Sure enough, it was delicious.
我们觉得这块苹果馅饼布丁令人无法抗拒。果然，它很美味。
3.形容词或形容词短语作状语，表伴随或方式，可放在句首，也可放在句尾。例如，
Jane rose at the break of day, hungry and thirsty.(2016年10月浙江卷)
简在黎明时分起床，又饿又渴。(伴随)
Surprised and happy, Tony stood up and accepted the prize. (06全国卷)
托尼又惊讶又高兴，站起来领奖。(伴随)
They could hear David screaming as they sat in the waiting room , powerless to do anything except wait.(伴随)
他们可以听到大卫坐在候诊室里尖叫，除了等待，他们什么也做不了。
Happy, the little girl ran to her mother. (伴随)
小女孩高兴地跑向妈妈。
Overjoyed, she dashed out of the house. 他非常高兴，急步跑出屋子。
The crime hid himself in the corner, afraid of being caught. (伴随)
罪犯躲在角落里，生怕被抓住。
She hurried up the steps, nervous and pale.
她勿忙走上台阶，神情紧张，脸色苍白。（表伴随动作）
Her voice was tender, full of pity. 她的声音很温柔，充满了怜悯。
Robinson Crusoe stared at the footprint, full of fear.
鲁滨逊盯着那个脚印，满怀恐惧。
She approached us full of beans. 他神采奕奕地向我们走过来。
She gazed at him, silent for a moment.
她凝视着他，静默了片刻。（方式状语）
We shuffled up the stairs toward the revolving doors slowly, afraid of what awaited us inside.
我们慢吞吞地走上楼梯，慢慢地向旋转门走去，生怕里面会发生什么。
He lay there, unable to move. 他躺在那里动弹不得。
We arrived home safe and sound. 我们安然无恙地到了家。
We came back, hungry and thirsty, to tell the media what happened to us.
我们回来时饥渴难耐，这么着急是为了告诉媒体发生了什么事
At 5 am I was lying in bed, awake, thinking. 凌晨5点，我躺在床上，清醒地思考着。
Excited and overjoyed, the children rushed to the front. 孩子们又兴奋又高兴，冲到前面。
4.形容词或形容词短语作状语，表结果，放在句尾。
例如，
Mary arrived at her home ， tired and hungry.
玛丽回到家，又累又饿。
He got there, hungry and tired.
他到达了那里，又饿又累。
Jack came back home from the Second War ， safe and sound.
杰克从第二次战争中平安归来。
5. 形容词或形容词短语作状语，表让步，常由一个形容词短语或由or连接的两个以上的并列形容词短语构成，位置位于句首，也可位于句中。
例如，
Young in year, he is old in experience.
他虽然年轻，却很有经验。（让步状语）
Old and young, everyone likes music.
无论老少，每个人都喜欢音乐。（让步状语）
Every one ， poor or rich, should be equal.
每个人，无论贫富，都应该平等。（让步状语）
Right or wrong, there could be no going back. 无论对错，都没有回头路。
To experience new emotions, good and bad, we have to climb the mountains, and swim the ocean. 为了体验新的情绪，无论是好的还是坏的，我们必须爬上高山，游过海洋。
All countries, big or small, should be equal.国家不分大小，应该一律平等。
In New York, there is no subsidy or safety net for writers, young or old.在纽约，无论老少，作家都得不到任何补助或保障。
I will buy it, dear or cheap. 不论贵贱我都要买它。
三、形容词（短语）作状语的位置：
除了以上的放句首、句尾、句中外，有时形容词作状语还可以插入在主语后边，
如：
The girl, amazed at the sight, didn't know what to say.
那姑娘看到这景象后很惊讶，不知道说什么。
形容词作状语也可以直接位于动词后，
如：
Many poets died young.
许多诗人英年早逝。
The kites fly high. 这个风筝飞得很高。
One evening, when he was watching TV, he knew most people in a small country were short of food and some of them had died hungry. 一天晚上，他看电视的时候了解到，一个小国食物短缺，一些人就饿死了。
He said nothing but sat silent smoking.
他什么话也没说，只是静静坐在那里抽着烟。
Their crime was to help a prisoner to break free.
他们的罪行是帮助一个囚犯越狱。
另外，还有一类特殊的形容词用作状语：
This soup is boiling hot! 这汤真烫！
It's freezing cold outside. 外面极为寒冷。
My feet were icy cold. 我双脚冰冷。
She was wearing bright red lipstick. 她搽着鲜红色的口红。
The stove was red hot. 火炉是炽热的。
It’s boiling hot. 它是滚烫的。
His face was bright red. 他的脸是鲜红的。
The weather is freezing [icy, bitter] cold. 天气冷极了。
其中的red, boiling, freezing, icy, bitter 等的实际意义大致相当于very，起加强语气的作用，并且它们用法也很有限，如可说 bitter cold(冰冷)，bitter wind(寒风)等，习惯上却不说 bitter hot(炽热)，bitter busy(极忙)等。