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 ...
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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?🤔
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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
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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 ...
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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'...
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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?
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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 ...
user467332
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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"...
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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 ...
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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 "...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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"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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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.
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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"
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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 ...
user139221
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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"?
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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?
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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 "...
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Smell bright, taste bright
Smell bright and taste bright is grammatically correct, but why are they not used but look bright is used?
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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, ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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{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 ...
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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 ...
user120390
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Kick someone to somewhere
Is it correct to say like that meaning to send someone there?
Kick someone to hell
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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 ...
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"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?
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"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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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?
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