I found myself stuck in the snow.

What does the verb "found" mean here? Does it mean (1) "came to realize" OR (2) "found as discovered"?

If it means "came to realize", I find it difficult to understand that the object of realize is myself. Could you help me clarify it? Thank you always.

  • I found myself stuck in the snow is the same metaphor as I find it difficult to understand. What's it? – John Lawler Feb 28 '18 at 3:56

If you look at the entry for find in the Cambridge Dictionary, you will see that there is a separate definition for find yourself


The verb is followed by a reflexive pronoun (myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves) and then something to describe the situation- generally prepositional phrase or participial phrase.

With his supporters dropping out, he found himself in an untenable position - prepositional phrase

When the tide came in, I found myself trapped in the cave. - participial phrase- passsive/past participle

She somehow took a wrong turn, and found herself driving the wrong way down a one-way street. - participial phrase- active participle

  • Thank you for a simple answer. My goodness people can be so mean. – Lambie Jan 11 '19 at 0:35

In a way, I'd say both... Here "found" means "to be" but with a slight degree of surprise because it was sort of unexpected. You can replace "found" by "got" if you want : I got stuck in the snow. It's rather commonplace to use "I found myself...(+ somewhere / in a certain position)" I would say it sort of implies "Much to my surprise/Unexpectedly, I got..."

That's how I see it. I'd be glad to get any other feedback on that though.

  • Thank you so much for your kind answer. I have been always wondering the english interesting expression "found oneself p.p". With your kind explanation, now, I got to understand the meaning so well. Thanks. – DeborahJeong Feb 28 '18 at 3:59

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