Questions tagged [complements]
For questions about expressions needed to complete the meaning of other expressions. Related to tags subject-complement and object-complement.
154
questions
-1
votes
0answers
19 views
What would you say if there are no verbs which can have an adjective complement?
Dye the hair red. (o)
“Dye” can have an adjective complement.
Tint the hair red. (x)
“Tint” cannot have an adjective complement.
In this case, what would you say?
Tint the hair to be red.
Tint the ...
-1
votes
1answer
41 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?
0
votes
0answers
12 views
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"
1
vote
1answer
30 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
35 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"?
0
votes
0answers
15 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?
1
vote
1answer
21 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 "...
0
votes
1answer
31 views
Smell bright, taste bright
Smell bright and taste bright is grammatically correct, but why are they not used but look bright is used?
0
votes
0answers
25 views
Complement vs adjunct
For this sentence:
I have trouble solving the problem.
Is solving the problem a complement or an adjunct?
What if the sentence is I have trouble in solving the problem ? Is in solving the problem an ...
0
votes
2answers
69 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, ...
1
vote
0answers
17 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
“Adjective Complements” in major English grammar books?
Are there any major English grammar books (like CGEL, PEU, etc.) that list "adjective complements" as one of main constituents of a predicate (or a sentence pattern)?
https://www....
1
vote
1answer
48 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
27 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
25 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
55 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 ...
-1
votes
1answer
29 views
Kick someone to somewhere
Is it correct to say like that meaning to send someone there?
Kick someone to hell
0
votes
0answers
18 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
22 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?
0
votes
2answers
2k 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
578 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
29 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 ...
0
votes
2answers
154 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
26 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?
3
votes
3answers
134 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
524 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
250 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 ...
0
votes
1answer
63 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?
3
votes
4answers
171 views
How to parse this sentence “I heard him drop his keys.”
"I heard him drop his keys"
I = subject
heard = verb
"him drop his keys." = direct object.
But how can I understand 'drop his keys'?
"I heard him singing in the shower."
Here, "singing in the ...
0
votes
1answer
183 views
Subject-dependent inversion
In front of him opens a magnificent view on mountains.
Is such a subject-dependent inversion possible? Or should I use
there opens a magnificent view on mountains in front of him?
0
votes
1answer
103 views
relative clause or object complement
Note that because every 2-element subset chosen from a set of 5 elements corresponds to a unique 3-element subset consisting of the elements not chosen.
My questions concern whether consisting of the ...
1
vote
1answer
116 views
“That would be more than enough”. Is 'more' the head of the complement or 'enough'?
It has over 100,000 words and meanings. You'd think that would be
more than enough for most of us but meanings change and new words are being created all the time.
Might I trouble you to tell me ...
4
votes
3answers
733 views
two subject complements in passive form?
Hi I am English learner.
Recently, I have a question.
There is a sentence:
He was selected chairman.
On this passive form, I think the word selected is a subject complement.
Therefore, He is ...
0
votes
2answers
37 views
Sentence structure , object and complement
He offered to lend the book to the student.
Subject: He
Verb: offered
I don't know what the object should be, is it "to lend the book"? but then the object itself would be comprised of a verb and ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Intransitive verb + one's way construction
The following seems to be transitive verb + one's way constructions.
She pushed her way through the crowd.
She cut her way through the jungle.
I parse that as this: S+V+O+O.C
Yet, the ...
0
votes
1answer
2k views
Nominal to-infinitive clause as complement of an adjective
Source: "A Cmmunicative Grammar of English" by Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik (p.328-329)
As you can see, the book says:
● Nominal to-fininitive clause as subject:
To say there is no ...
3
votes
1answer
251 views
Is it distransitive or complex transitive as in “She told her cat to leave”?
She told her cat to leave.
Here are two kinds of parsing.
1.Distransitive + indirect object and direct object
She (S) + told (V) her cat (I.O) to leave (D.O)
2.Complex transitive + direct ...
1
vote
1answer
134 views
Complements: -ing form or infinitives
Not sure if this was already discussed, but I am confused about the use of -ing form/infinitives as complements. I've found in several threads in Stack Exchange that the verb "to be" has to be ...
0
votes
2answers
60 views
When is inversion between the subject and the object or the subject and the complement possible?
When is inversion between the subject and the object or the subject and the complement possible?
For instance:
I stood at the window watching the kids play. <---> At the window watching the ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
Why is “difference” used following “is”?
Could anyone please explains to me when to use "different" and when to use "difference"?
I searched the web about that and I have seen that difference is a noun and different is an adjective and for ...
1
vote
2answers
258 views
Should I use “is” or “has” here?
I am confused about how to use "is" or "has" in one way or the other.
Is it correct to say " he is gone to the back gate "
or it should be "he has gone to the back gate"
because I think "gone is a ...
0
votes
3answers
73 views
“A Thai youth soccer team were found alive Monday” Why is an adjective “alive” following a verb “found”? or “found alive” is an idiom?
I have read this sentence in a newspaper of USA Today, "Thai soccer team found alive after 10 days lost in caves":
A Thai youth soccer team and its coach were found alive Monday in a vast, flooded ...
0
votes
2answers
101 views
These terms are important for me to work here happily
Can I use infinitive clauses in that way?
1-) These terms are important for me to work here happily.
2-) These terms are important to work here happily.(If it is obvious that I am talking ...
0
votes
2answers
69 views
Do we have to use adjective complements just after adjectives?
Examples:
I had already been very sorry but with your behaviour, I was extremely disappointed.
(Instead of "but I was extremely disappointed with your behaviour")
I was good at software ...
0
votes
0answers
99 views
I prevented you from going there
I prevented you from going there.
What is the function of "from going there" ?
I think that it is an adverbial prepositional phrase because I have studied object complements and learned that ...
2
votes
2answers
451 views
Why can we say “Enough money to do something” but not “a ready machine to do something”?
We can say:
I have enough money to go to Italy.
Which means:
I have money which is enough to go to Italy
But why does the following sentence not work?
I have a ready machine to run for 10 ...
0
votes
1answer
459 views
The complements of linking verbs
We know that the complements of action verbs can be neither an adjective nor a prepositional phrase, but, it seems that that situation changes for linking verbs.
He was upstairs.
"Upstairs" ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
How scared are you of snakes?
Do you think that it is grammatically correct to ask questions by leaving adjective complements alone?
How happy are you about the exam results?
How disappointed were you with my last ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Directly asking questions about adjective complements
Can we ask some questions about adjective complements?
I was disappointed with your behaviour.(1)
Can we ask its question like
With what were you disappointed? (2)
or
What were you ...
-2
votes
1answer
36 views
I want to be a good person to invite to a party
Can we say this sentence is grammatically correct English?
I want to be a good person to invite to a party.
The intended meaning is:
I want to be a person who is good to invite to a party.
...
