Is the word "hard-won" used correctly in the sentence below?

[rezaaa]

"In certain key areas, Pierce can “reconstruct” events that occurred, and when the information hard-won by thorough detective work meshes with the information these fun “CSI Cthulhu” segments reveal, magic can happen."

Source:https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/10/30/call-of-cthulhu-revie

It appears that "hard-won" is an adjective as it is defined in dictionaries. Here in the article it was used as a p.p verb of a participle clause.

 

[GoesStation]

It's an adjective modifying "information": the information hard-won by thorough detective work.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Right. It's hard-won information. The information was not easy to get. It was hard-won.

I wonder if it's really an adjective in that quote. "[T]he information hard-won [gained] by thorough detective work meshes . . . ." So when hard-won used that way, why not call it a verb?

I'm not a grammarian.

 

[rezaaa]

It's an adjective modifying "information": the information hard-won by thorough detective work.

I knew that, but what confuses me is why an adjective sits after a noun.

 

[jutfrank]

It doesn't matter what you call it, does it?

It is used correctly, yes. The phrase hard-won by thorough detective work modifies information.

You're probably wondering about how the modifier here appears after the noun it modifies rather than before as is normal.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I knew that, but what confuses me is why an adjective sits after a noun.

As I said in post #3, I don't think it's being used as an adjective there. It looks like a verb to me. (You'll notice that if you switch it to hard-won information, the whole sentences doesn't make sense. And it would if it were an adjective.)

And as Jut says, regardless of whether hard-won itself is being used as an adjective or verb, the larger phrase modifies information.

We all agree that it's used correctly. And yes, adjectives do sometimes come after nouns.

 

[GoesStation]

It's definitely an adjective. There is no verb "to hard win" or "to win hard".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

It's definitely an adjective. There is no verb "to hard win" or "to win hard".

I know it's often an adjective. But in this example, I read hard-won the same way I'd read gained or acquired or uncovered. (Those can also be verbs or adjectives.)

Flipping the words to hard-won information by thorough detective work now seems to need a verb after information — for instance: hard-won information uncovered by thorough detective work.

Oh, well. That's why I leave grammar to other people. Thanks for trying!