Leave the door cracked open.
He push the door open.
He flung open the door.

Should I take ‘flung open’ as a verbal phrase or ‘open’ as infinitive without ‘to’?

Leave the door cracked open.

This is OK, but you really don’t need the word “open.” Leave the door cracked. A door that is cracked is open by default.

He push the door open.

He pushed the door open.

He flung open the door.

Flung is the verb (past tense of fling). Open is actually an adjective modifying door. (He flung the door open)

From one extreme to the other….

He left the door ajar

He flung the door afar

Was it the left door or the right one?

saparris - 09 July 2009 04:41 PM

Leave the door cracked open.

This is OK, but you really don’t need the word “open.” Leave the door cracked. A door that is cracked is open by default.

He push the door open.

He pushed the door open.

He flung open the door.

Flung is the verb (past tense of fling). Open is actually an adjective modifying door. (He flung the door open)

Why then ‘open’ is sometimes placed after the verb?

He flung open the door.
He flipped open his cell phone.

Why then ‘open’ is sometimes placed after the verb?

It’s a fairly common construction and mostly a matter of choice.

He flipped the cell phone open. He flipped open the cell phone. 
He switched on the light. He switched the light on.
He made available all his research. He made all his research available.

saparris - 10 July 2009 08:39 PM

Why then ‘open’ is sometimes placed after the verb?

It’s a fairly common construction and mostly a matter of choice.

He flipped the cell phone open. He flipped open the cell phone. 
He switched on the light. He switched the light on.
He made available all his research. He made all his research available.

I understand the verbal phrase ‘turn on’ and the object can go between turn and on.

If open is placed after verb flipped, ‘open’ still function as adjective?

What is the function of ‘available’ placed after ‘made’?

Every language has idiomatic expressions that mean something non-literal.

You can turn on a light, turn off a light, turn in a criminal, and turn down the covers without ever turning anything. It’s just the way the language works.

He made available his research and He make his research available means that he allowed his research to become available. Available is an adjective in both sentences because made serves as a quasi-linking verb—because made available is an idiomatic expression.

When a house catches fire, it really doesn’t catch anything. It ignites. Same principle.