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The 5 Types of Complements
A sentence must have a subject and a predicate/verb. Many simple
sentences are made with just these two basic parts:
Birds fly.
You can add some adjectives and adverbs to modify the subject and verb:
The beautiful birds fly gracefully.
You might even toss in a modifying prepositional phrase:
The beautiful birds fly gracefully toward the horizon.
Even with all the modifiers, this is still a simple sentence composed of a subject (birds) with its modifiers (the, beautiful) and a predicate (fly) with its modifiers (gracefully, toward the horizon). Some sentences, however, require more than just a subject and a simple predicate to complete their meaning. The following sentences, for example, are clearly missing something important:
The selfish child grabbed. (Grabbed what?)
He insulted. (Insulted whom?) They were. (Were what?)
Words required to complete the meaning of the predicate of a sentence
are known as complements. The fragments above are lacking necessary complements.
The Five Kinds of Complements
There are five kinds of complements. Three of them are used with action verbs only: direct objects, indirect objects, and object complements. Two others, called subject complements, are predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives. Subjects complements are used only with linking verbs. 1) Direct Object: The first two incomplete sentences above require direct objects: The selfish child grabbed the toy. He insulted Sarah.
A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action
of the verb (verbs that have a direct object are called transitive verbs). To identify the direct object of a sentence, form a question with the verb and the words whom or what. For example: •Q. Grabbed what? •A. the toy •Q. insulted whom? •A. Sarah Another examples of direct object in a sentence are:
My mother gave me a new backpack.
The boy received a huge ovation for his excellent performance. The young lady hit Jack with the ball.
The first two sentences answer the question, “what?” and the third sentence answer the question, “who?” Let’s check if you can try with these sentences. My boyfriend bought me a necklace for my birthday. Which is the D.O in this sentence? “necklace” is the correct answer, becuase it is a pronoun, it receives the action of the verb, and it answer the question what. Among the transitive verbs we have a wide list :
bring buy cot get give leave offer make pass owe play pay read promise send refuse sing show teach take write tell 2) Indirect Object: Sometimes sentences with direct objects also have an indirect object, actually they must have a direct object:
The boy gave Sarah the toy.
Sarah gave her doll a hug.
An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that names the person or thing something is done to or for. To identify the indirect object of a sentence, first be sure there is a direct object,because direct objects can stand alone in a sentence,but indirect objects can’t. Then ask to whom or to what? or for whom or what?:
•Q. Gave what?
•A. toy (D.O) •Q. To whom? •A. Sarah (I.O) •Q. Gave what? •A. hug (D.O) •Q. To what? •A. doll (I.O) Indirect objects are placed between the verb and the direct object.
Check this:
The woman gave the beggar a coin.
The ones in red are the verb and the direct object, while the one in yellow represents the indirect object. The boy sent me a present. My mom showed them the new plan. He bought his son a bike. As you can observe these sentences contain both,D.O and I.O. where the I.O’s are: “Me,them.son” which are both pronouns,and become in the recipients of the vebs, and answer the questions “to whom or for whom”. Let’s try with these sentences. The people offered the poors some help. Which is the I.O in this sentence? “poors” is the correct answer, because it is a pronoun, it is between the verb and the direct object and it answer the question to “whom.” NOW, TRY TO WRITE A SENTENCE CONTAINING A D.O THEN ADD AN I.O TO IT. 3)Object Complement An object complement modifies or renames an object, an object complement is a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective which follows a direct object to rename it or state what it has become.
The class elected Stanley president.
I called Wayne an egghead.
She chose Jhon the winner of the constest.
The three sentences are renaming the objects.
Try with these sentences:
Monique became a model.
Which is the object complement?
Model is correct ,because it renames the object “Monique” The new teacher called everybody intelligent . Which is the the object complement? “Intelligent” is correct,because it renames the word “everybody” by saying that they were intelligents. We all consider her unworthy. Which is the object complement? “Unworthy” is correct, because it renames the object “her” by saying she is unworthy. They named the boy Christopher. Which is the object complement?
NOW, CAN YOU WRITE YOUR OWN EXAMPLE?
SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS
4) Predicate Nominative
A predicate nominative renames the subject of a linking
verb. The third sentence at the beginning of the lesson could be completed with a predicate nominative:
They were experts.
Mr. Wilson is my history professor.
They were …??
The new doctor is my mom. The coach is Cesia’s father. Both sentences have a predicate nominative, because are renaming the object by using linking verbs. Maybe object complements and predicate nominative are very alike, but do not get confused, an object complement is after a direct object and a predicate nominative is after the linking verb. Another difference is that LINKING VERBS DO NOT HAVE A DIRECT OBJECT. The coach is Cesia’s father. This sentence doesn’t have direct object,because it is written using a linking verb not a transitive verb. Try to guess. He appeared confused with the presentation. which is the predicate nominative? “Confused” is correct, because it renames an object, it is using a linking verb and it doesn’t contain direct object in the sentence. 5) Predicate Adjective
A predicate adjective modifies the subject of a linking
verb. The sentence above could also be completed with a predicate adjective.
They were hilarious.
Your outfit looks terrific!
As you can see, these sentences contain predicate adjectives being the modifiers of the objects. Having predicate adjectives means that we can describe subjects without putting the adjectives before him. Instead of having to say, “The good boy” followed by a verb, we can simply say, “the boy is good. In this sentence, we can identify that “the boy” is the subject, “is” is the linking verb, and “good” is the predicate adjective. “Good” effectively renames the subject of the sentence. Let’s try: Grapes become shriveled in the sun. Which is the predicate adjective? “Srhiveled” is correct, because it renames the object, it is after the linking verb and it is an adjective saying something about the object. Elizabeth is hungry. Which is the predicate adjective? “hungry” is correct ,because it renames the object, it is after the linking verb and it is an adjective saying something about the object. You seem tired today. Which is the predicate adjective?
CAN YOU WRITE YOUR OWN EXAMPLES OF PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
AND ADJECTIVE? LET’S PRACTICE! Identify the subject complements(PREDICATE NOMINATIVE AND PREDICATE ADJECTIVE) direct object, indirect object and object complement in the following sentences. 1. George is the captain.
