Questions tagged [complements]

For questions about expressions needed to complete the meaning of other expressions. Related to tags subject-complement and object-complement.

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adjunct or complement

My question is whether these sentences are each grammatical or not: a) As a common language, English is good to communicate with you. b) As a common language, English is good to communicate with you ...
beancurdog's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
152 views

Why is "to eat" the indirect complement in "Have you had sufficient to eat?"?

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (page 1262): Infinitivals indirectly licensed by too, enough, sufficient, sufficiently: [i] [a] It is too late [for you to go out now]. [i] [b] Enough ...
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We can't remove article from a singular countable noun. So is that a noun modifier or complement?

We can't remove article from a singular countable noun. So is that a noun modifier or complement? We generally call it a modifier though it's mandatory...But why?🤔
Salim Uddin's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
91 views

Difference between 'like' and 'alike': - 'The tepees look alike big tents'

Could someone explain why alike is not the correct one for this blank? They lived in tepees. These were.......(like, alike) big tents. answer: like
Ella Ya's user avatar
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1 answer
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'He lay unconscious." What is "unconscious"?

I just cannot seem to comprehend this question, but it has been bothering me all evening. In the sentence "He lay unconscious," what is "unconscious"? It cannot be an adjective, it ...
display name's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
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Noun modified by two adjectives; one has a complement, the other doesn't

When using two adjectives to modify the same noun, and only one of them has a complement, what are the grammatical options? I know that these sentences can probably be rephrased to sound better, but I'...
Andrey Natan's user avatar
-2 votes
1 answer
69 views

We painted the wall green. (adjective or noun?) [closed]

We painted the wall green. The word 'green' in the above sentence is an adjective or a noun?
gomadeng's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Can we say "Readers will have little trouble to keep track of them"?

Is keeping track a gerund in the sentence? Readers will have little trouble keeping track of them. If keeping track is a gerund, does that mean that we could also use an infinitive instead with no ...
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1 vote
1 answer
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Can "below" stand alone, without a complement?

I know that "below" can be used without a complement in a "deictic" (for lack of a better word) context, as in, for instance, "I will explain this in further detail below"...
Helen's user avatar
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parts of speech question (Subject + adjective + prepositional phrases)

He's married to the director. You should be proud of your progress. He's really good at English. She's excited about the new job. What part of speech do the bolded words play? Are they prepositional ...
Kwan Hui's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
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When to use complement in relatives clauses?

Something I question daily is whether I should put a complement in a sentence or not when it comes to relative clauses. For example: Bullying ought not to be something that you should just "...
Jason O'Neil's user avatar
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1 answer
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It would be excellent experience for him

It would be excellent experience for him to travel a little. Clytemnestra is a pretentious name for a dog. (Reference: dictionary examples) I wonder if excellent experience for him is a noun phrase ...
Aaaaaaassssss's user avatar
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1 answer
28 views

Do you need an extra complement in sentences like these?

When I speak English, I fear I might be unconsciously relying on the syntax of my mother tongue a little too much, which might end up with me creating ungrammatical sentences (and even ...
Jason O'Neil's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
46 views

"earn" and its ambiguity direct object

I earn my living by fighting on arena for many years as gladiator. There is some ambiguity in this sentence. In my opinion it convey two different meanings: 1. I earn (money/and so on) for my living ...
xyz's user avatar
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Is 'watching him' a gerund clause in this example?

He saw James watching him. Recently, I have become familiar with non-finite clauses. This has led me to question the function of the ing- clause in constructions like the one above. Prior to learning ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
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0 answers
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Grammatical explanation of participle phrase (or gerund phrase) after verb + noun (see example)

They spend hours watching video on their phones. In this quote, is the phrase 'watching video on their phones' a present participle phrase or a gerund? If it is a participle phrase, surely it should ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
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1 answer
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a subject complement or an adjunct

They were crushed to death in the accident. In this case, is the preposition phrase(to death) a subject complement or an adjunct? It is hard to distinguish both. If neither isn't correct, what does ...
bak1936's user avatar
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1 answer
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SVC sentence structure confusion [closed]

I have read about SVC sentences like "we all feel sorry for him". Can I also write: The trunk wrinkled old and dry. As wrinkle is not a linking verb so is it incorrect? Is there any other ...
Learner's user avatar
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subject complement or adverb phrase

I have a question about a sentence below. we expect about 50% of registered voters to vote in the election. Is a PP(in the election) a subject complement(is it possible?) or a modifier? If it is a ...
bak1936's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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What is "more carefully than I do" in "My wife drives more carefully than I do", grammatically?

Consider this sentence: My wife drives more carefully than I do. I want to understand the grammatical role of the phrase, more carefully than I do Is it an adverb, and adverb phrase, an adverb ...
justin770's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
155 views

Is 'cry' a catenative complement in this example?

In the provided example (below), is 'cry' considered a catenative complement? He made him cry. 'Him' is the object of 'made,' so 'cry' must be a complement. I know that a verb cannot function as an ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
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2 answers
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She was told a joke

She was told a joke Is a joke an object here? Or maybe a compulsory adjunct? Cuz I think she was told doesn't make sense on its own. I'm confused, can someone help?
Angyang's user avatar
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1 answer
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found his apartment broken into and his antique vase missing

Do native speakers find the following sentence natural? Joe found his apartment broken into and his antique vase missing.
Apollyon's user avatar
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That- Clauses as Adjective Complements – How Do They Modify the Adjective?

Researching adjective complements, I have found the use of that- clauses quite jarring. The Free Dictionary lists the different types of adjective complements — prepositional phrases, infinitive ...
MJ Ada's user avatar
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1 answer
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difference between to be N, A / N, A [closed]

I have heard that cognitive verbs such as 'think, believe, consider, suppose, understand, imagine...etc.' should use 'to be noun' or 'to be adjective' in the object complement. She believed him to be ...
hero yoo's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
60 views

Is "to be innocent" in the accused declared himself to be innocent the object complement?

The accused declared himself to be innocent. Got a quick question, is to be innocent the object complement?
Angyang's user avatar
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1 vote
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To infinitive as object complement

i have a question concerning whether "to resist" in the sentence below is an object complement. "He lacked the strength to resist"
Antichrist's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
59 views

Verb+adjective into adverb+adjective

Can verb+adjective complement be freely inverted into adverb+adjective? For example: Something seems beautiful. It’s something seemingly beautiful. Something looks special. It’s something visually ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
41 views

Get something hot

If I say "I want to get my coffee hot", (In the literal sense), does it mean I want to cause my coffee to be hot? or literally the same as "I want to receive my coffee hot"?
Karl's user avatar
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0 answers
23 views

It's a question about complements

It is important that he ________ what he is learning is worthwhile. a-believe / b-believes /c-to believe /d-believing Why is the answer of this question is a and not b?
Bardia Doosti's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
32 views

Grammar and role of the word "protected"

What is the role of the word "protected" in the following sentence? She kept her money protected in a safe. I mean, she is the sub., kept is the v. and ... so what about the word "...
farideh's user avatar
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1 answer
224 views

Smell bright, taste bright

Smell bright and taste bright is grammatically correct, but why are they not used but look bright is used?
nomad's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
103 views

What is ‘intelligent’ complementing in the beginning of this sentence?

I have the following sentence and diagram: To sound intelligent on political issues was Wayne’s goal. The infinitive phrase is the subject of the sentence. What is intelligent complementing exactly, ...
mjfneto's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
113 views

be careful that-clause and be careful wh-clause

I'll be more careful what I say in the future. We were very careful that he didn't find out. The that-clause in sentence 2 is a complement of the adjective careful. The wh-clause in sentence 1 seems ...
Gestaltfilter's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
328 views

When is a complement of verb gerund?

I am confused about when a complement of a verb is a gerund. For instance He is going to school. here "going" is the complement of verb "is" yet not a gerund He is playing for ...
Human2008's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
88 views

What's the difference between post attributive and complement?

After six months of arguing and final 16 hours of hot parliamentary debates, Australia's Northern Territory became the first legal authority in the world to allow doctors to take the lives of ...
Ryanqy's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
50 views

{past tense verb} [optional adverb] is... - what is this grammar?

I came across with this sentence Located on the Trusted Server is a private key named Certificate Authority (CA) I guess it's another way to say something like: "The thing that is located on ...
Ingun전인건's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
73 views

Adjective or noun?

In the sentence "He became captain of the team", 'captain' (noun) is the subject complement of 'became' and 'of the team' (a PP) is the object complement of 'captain'. Since complements ...
user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
39 views

Kick someone to somewhere

Is it correct to say like that meaning to send someone there? Kick someone to hell
Boyep's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
67 views

Use to or Used to exercises , help me complete the sentence

When we were children, we ____________________ collect stamps. Mr. Wood ______________ read at leat four hours a day when he was young. John __________________ walk to school in the ...
Me It's me's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
43 views

"Donna became quickly irritated"

Donna became quickly irritated. I'm confused about the position of "irritated". Is that considered as a direct object as it answered the verb "became"? I read it is a complement, why? Which type?
Kay Ky's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
7k views

"Starting" or "to start?"

What is the difference between them and when I should use -ing form and when -to+infinitive in similar cases? "I could see her eyes starting to tear up." or "I could see her eyes to ...
Daniel's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
2k views

Specifier, adjunct, or complement? how to know? syntax

How can I know if an embedded clause is a Specifier, an adjunct, or a complement? For example, in a sentence like: One notion that nobody has mentioned yet was proposed during the conference. Can ...
User384789's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
33 views

Valency of being situated

Being situated seems to need some kind of complement. According to Cambridge Dictionary, it may be used in the following ways: with in/on/near/... with an adverb with a to-infinitive However, it ...
Kaveh's user avatar
  • 113
0 votes
2 answers
234 views

to infinitive vs happen + to infinitive difference

Is there any difference between the following sentences, respectively? “It so happens that today is my birthday.” -- Today is my birthday. “I happen to have exactly what you need.” -- I have ...
Soner from The Ottoman Empire's user avatar
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0 answers
32 views

Grammatical function of "all" in "You ladies all have to understand its importance."

Does all within: You ladies all have to understand its importance. play the role of an adverb?
Norbert's user avatar
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3 votes
3 answers
328 views

What is the grammatical function of the bold phrase in the sentence?

Some of the world's oldest preserved art is the cave art of Europe, most of it in Spain and France. The above sentence is from IELTS test reading passage, and it is oral English. I want to make ...
Henry Wang's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to distinguish the attribute & complement in a sentence?

As an example: In some cultures, people regard men as breadwinners. my textbook says: ''as breadwinners'' is the complement to ''regard'', but I think it is the attribute to ''men''. Which one is ...
U2647's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
289 views

Marking the functions of a sentence: 'She may like it'

I am reading Cambridge Grammar of English Language (CaGEL) all over again, though not cover to cover. One page no. 215, I came across The major functions in the structure of the clause are the ...
Man_From_India's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
89 views

complement omission after "than"

The average age is higher than it has been in recorded history. Can you tell me why "than it has been" doesn't have a complement in the sentence above?
jinnyk216's user avatar
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