LoginComplements For Intermediate learners
In this lesson, discover complements, which complete the meaning of a verb in a sentence. Improve with simple explanations and easy examples.
Complements: Types
Generally, there are two major kinds of complements. Take a look at the following list:
Now, take a look at the following examples:
Money is everything. (Subject complement)
I caught my friend stealing. (Object complement)
Now, let us examine each separately:
Subject Complements
Subject complements (also known as predicative nominative and predicative adjectives) provide necessary information about the subject of the clause. They can be nouns, pronouns, or adjectives, and always appear after a linking verb. Study the following examples carefully:
Kim is a cartographer.
As you can see, 'cartographer' is about the subject and if we remove it, the sentence will be incomplete.
They became rock stars.
The structure below shows the order of the elements of a clause that contains a subject complement:
Subject + verb + subject complement
Subject complements can be classified into four subgroups:
Predicative Nouns
Predicative Pronouns
Predicative Adjectives
Predicative Prepositional Phrase
In this lesson, we are going to learn about 'predicative nouns' and 'predicative adjectives'.
Predicative Nouns
Predicative nouns rename or describe the subject of a clause. They always follow a linking verb. Let us take a look at some examples:
Life becomes tough sometimes.
Christianity is my religion.
Predicative Adjectives
When we want to modify the subject, we use predicative adjectives. These adjectives always follow a linking verb. Take a look at the following examples:
Her novel was awful.
This ice cream tastes sour.
Object Complements
When we want to add information to the direct object of the clause, we use object complements. Take a look at the following examples:
He made me angry yesterday.
I called her an idiot.
The structure of a sentence that contains an object complement is as follows:
Subject + verb + direct object + object complement
Object complements can be nouns, adjectives, relative clauses, infinitives, or gerunds. Below, we are going to discuss some of them:
Nouns and Noun Phrases
There is a specific group of verbs that can take an object complement. They are known as factitive verbs and indicate the result of the action. Below is a list of some common factitive verbs:
Make
Appoint
Choose
Select
Judge
Now, check out the following examples:
She made her friends pasta.
The manager appointed her the head waitress.
Adjectives and Adjective Phrases
We can use adjectives or adjective phrases to describe or modify direct objects. Take a look at the following examples:
She made me overly happy.
As you can see, an adjective phrase has been used to modify the direct object.
The painter painted Anne's room blue.
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases
We can also use an infinitive or infinitive phrase to modify a direct object. Study the following examples carefully:
I didn't ask him to help me.
She chose her sister to accompany her to the wedding.
Tip!
The only difference between adjuncts and complements is that adjuncts are used when we want to add extra information to the sentence, while complements are necessary and complete the meaning of the sentence. Compare the following examples:
I named the baby Sheila.
Here, 'Sheila' is a complement because without it, the sentence will be incomplete.
I quit going to the gym long ago.
As you can see, if we remove 'long ago', the sentence would still be meaningful.
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