LoginSubject Complements
In this lesson, master subject complements, which are essential parts of a sentence that follow linking verbs to describe or rename the subject. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Subject Complements?
'Subject complements' (also known as predicative complements) are special types of verb complements that follow linking verbs and complete the meaning of the clause by describing the subject of the clause. Subject complement provides a description of the subject.
Subject Complements: Types
There are five types of subject complements in English:
Adjective Phrases as Subject Complements
Adjective phrases can consist of one or more adjectives and their modifiers, such as adverbs or prepositional phrases. They can be placed after linking verbs to provide additional information and complete the description of the subject.
Check out the examples:
The walls are green.
It will get quite small when you fry it in oil.
Noun Phrases as Subject complements
Noun phrases can consist of a single noun or a noun and all its modifiers, e.g., determiners, adjectives, prepositional phrase, and noun modifiers. They can be used as subject complements in a clause, providing additional information about the subject of the sentence. Take a look at the examples:
It seems a long time since I have seen you.
My favorite animals are sea horses.
Pronouns as Subject Complements
Pronouns can also act as subject complements following linking verbs. There are various types of pronouns that can be used in this way, including:
Check out the examples:
The big problem is this. → demonstrative pronoun
It was me calling for help. → object pronoun
It was I calling for help. → subject pronoun
This use of subject pronouns is old fashioned and uncommon.
The teacher is who? → (interrogative pronoun)
She's someone I knew back in college. → (indefinite pronoun)
Adverb Phrases as Subject Complements
While adverb phrases can be used as subject complements following linking verbs, it is important to note that if an adverb can be easily removed from the sentence without affecting the meaning, then it is not acting as the subject complement. For example:
She was upstairs.
His mother is out.
Noun Clauses as Subject Complements
A noun clause functioning as a subject complement is a type of clause that follows a linking verb and serves to complement the subject by providing information about it. For example:
The question is who will lead the team.
Her belief is that honesty is the best policy.
Review
What comes after the linking verb and completes the meaning of a clause, is called a subject complement. Let us take a look at different types of subject complements.
adjective phrases
noun phrases
pronouns
adverb phrases
noun clauses
Quiz:
Which sentence uses an adjective phrase as the subject complement?
The winner is whoever finishes first.
The keys are nowhere to be found.
The soup smells incredibly delicious.
The keys are here.
Sort the words to make a sentence with a noun clause as subject complement.
Match each sentence to the correct type of subject complement.
Complete the sentences based on information from the lesson.
A(n)
connect the subject to a complement that completes its meaning.
A(n)
functioning as a subject complement typically provides information about the subject's location.
serve as subject complements and can be as simple as a single noun or more complex with modifiers.
Subject complements serve to
the subject.
Which of the following sentences correctly uses a pronoun as a subject complement in formal usage?
It was me who won the award.
It was he who won the award.
It was him who won the award.
It is my who won the award.
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