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subject complement
A complement (spelled with an e) is something that completes. And a subject complement is something that completes our idea of the subject of a sentence by giving us more information about it. Usually, the subject complement is a noun, a pronoun or an adjective. Location in the sentence A subject complement is found in the predicate of a sentence (the part of the sentence that contains the verb and makes a statement about the subject). The subject complement follows a linking verb (a verb that expresses a state of being). A verb of being is called a linking verb because it simply links the subject with the subject complement, without expressing any action. In a sentence with a linking verb and a subject complement, the subject is not doing anything; instead, the subject is being something. Our most common linking verb is the verb be and its forms am, is, are, was, were, been and being. In addition, the verbs seem, appear, become, grow, look, feel, sound, smell and taste can all act as linking verbs. Examples Here are some examples of sentences with linking verbs and subject complements: Jan is an excellent doctor. Here, the subject complement is the noun doctor (along with its modifiers an excellent), which tells us something about the subject Jan; the verb is simply links them without expressing any action. The winners of the bubble-tea-drinking contest are you and Wang. In the above example, the pronoun you and the noun Wang are the subject complements identifying the subject winners; the verb are simply links them without expressing any action. Arabella’s recipe for turnip cordial tasted unusual. Here, the subject complement unusual is an adjective describing the subject recipe; the verb tasted simply links them without expressing any action. The players seem excited about the upcoming game. In this last example, the subject complement excited is an adjective describing the subject players; the verb seem simply links them without expressing any action.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 12,593
Objects and complements
Objects A verb may be followed by an object that completes the meaning of the verb. Two kinds of objects follow verbs: direct objects and indirect objects. To determine if a verb has a direct object, isolate the verb and make it into a question by placing whom? or what? after it. The answer—if there is one—is the direct object, as in the following examples: Direct object The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche. Direct object Her staff gave her a bouquet of flowers. The second sentence above also contains an indirect object (her). An indirect object (which, like a direct object, is always a noun or pronoun) is, in a sense, the recipient of the direct object. To determine if a verb has an indirect object, isolate the verb and ask to whom?, to what?, for whom? or for what? after it. The answer is the indirect object. Not all verbs are followed by objects, as in the following sentences: The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest. After work, Randy usually jogs around the canal. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Verbs that take objects are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by objects are called intransitive verbs. Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, depending on the context, as in the following examples: Transitive I hope the Senators win the next game. The verb win has a direct object (the next game) and is therefore a transitive verb. Intransitive Did we win? The verb win has no direct object and is therefore an intransitive verb. Subject Complements In addition to transitive verbs and intransitive verbs, there are linking verbs. The word or phrase which follows a linking verb is called a subject complement (not an object). The most common linking verb is be. Other linking verbs are become, seem, appear, feel, grow, look, smell, taste and sound, among others. Note that some of these can be linking verbs, transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on how you use them, as in the following examples: Linking verb with subject complement He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor. Linking verb with subject complement Your homemade chili smells delicious. Transitive verb with direct object I can’t smell anything with this terrible cold. Intransitive verb with no object The interior of the new Buick smells strongly of fish. Note that a subject complement can be either a noun (radiologist, instructor) or an adjective (delicious). Object Complements An object complement is similar to a subject complement, except that it modifies an object rather than a subject. In this example of a subject complement, The driver seems tired. the adjective tired modifies the noun driver, which is the subject of the sentence. Sometimes, however, the noun will be an object, as in the following example: I consider the driver tired. In this case, the noun driver is the direct object of the verb consider, but the adjective tired is still acting as its complement. In general, verbs that have to do with perception, judgment or change can cause their direct objects to take an object complement, as in the following sentences: Paint it black. The judge ruled her out of order. I saw the Prime Minister campaigning. In each of the above examples, you could reconstruct the last part of the sentence into a sentence of its own using a subject complement: it is black, she is out of order, the Prime Minister is campaigning.Source: HyperGrammar 2 (basics of English grammar)
Number of views: 5,051
absolute phrases
A phrase is a group of words that forms a unit simpler than a sentence. A phrase does not contain a finite (conjugated) verb. Most phrases modify a particular word in a sentence. However, an absolute phrase modifies an entire sentence instead of a single word: The birds having flown off, the cat climbed down from the tree. Unlike an ordinary phrase, the birds having flown off does not modify any word in the rest of the sentence, such as cat or climbed. This type of phrase is called absolute because it is self-contained: it usually has its own subject (in this case, birds) and does not need to attach to any word in the sentence. Structure of an absolute phrase Absolute phrases can have any of the structures shown below. Noun + participle Her work completed, Amanda flew home. [noun work + participle completed] We scrambled along the shore, the waves splashing at our feet. [noun waves + participle splashing] Noun + other modifier His mind on other matters, Jordan didn’t notice the growing storm. [noun mind + prepositional phrase on other matters] The children set off for school, faces glum, to begin the fall term. [noun faces + adjective glum] Pronoun + infinitive The audience filed out, some to return home, others to gather at the pub. [pronoun some + infinitive to return; pronoun others + infinitive to gather] Common expressions as absolute phrases Some participle and infinitive phrases are common expressions that are considered absolute. Since they do not need to attach to a particular word, they can be placed at the beginning (or end) of a sentence without dangling. Here are some examples: Financially speaking, Bob’s lifestyle changes worked well. Talking of music, have you heard the new band at Taco Jack’s? A storm is brewing, judging by the dark clouds. To get back to the main point, the budget needs to be bigger. The food was mediocre, to say the least. Punctuation tip As the above examples show, an absolute phrase is set off with a comma (or with a pair of commas if it occurs in the middle of the sentence).Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 4,691
noun phrase
A phrase is a group of words that forms a unit simpler than a sentence. Unlike a sentence (or clause), a phrase normally does not contain both a subject and a finite (conjugated) verb. A noun phrase is simply a noun (or pronoun) with its modifiers. Examples of noun phrases Noun phrases consist of a noun or pronoun modified by adjectives, phrases or even dependent clauses. Noun or pronoun + adjectives two old shoes [noun shoes + adjectives two and old] many others [pronoun others + adjective many] Noun or pronoun + prepositional phrase trucks with rusty fenders [noun trucks + prepositional phrase with rusty fenders] both of you [pronoun both + prepositional phrase of you] Noun or pronoun + participle phrase workers delivering supplies [noun workers + present participle phrase delivering supplies] anyone delivering supplies [pronoun anyone + present participle phrase] cars made in Canada [noun cars + past participle phrase made in Canada] the ones made in Canada [pronoun ones + past participle phrase] Noun or pronoun modified by an infinitive phrase popcorn to snack on [noun popcorn + infinitive phrase to snack on] something to snack on [pronoun something + infinitive phrase] Noun or pronoun modified by a dependent clause clients who want this service [noun clients + clause who want this service] those who want this service [pronoun those + clause] Note: We have said that a phrase normally does not contain a subject and verb. The exception is a phrase that contains a dependent clause as a modifier, because every clause has a subject and verb.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 3,003
infinitive, infinitive phrase
An infinitive is a type of verbal—a verb form that looks like a verb but does not act as the verb in a sentence. An infinitive is the basic form of a verb, usually with to in front of it: to go, to stay, to be. Infinitives act as nouns, adjectives or adverbs: Larissa wants to leave. [noun, object of verb wants] I can show you the way to go. [adjective modifying noun way] To exit, please turn to your left. [adverb modifying verb turn] An infinitive phrase is an infinitive with attached words. Because an infinitive is formed from a verb, it retains some of the properties of a verb, so it can take an object: Larissa wants to leave the concert. [infinitive to leave + object the concert] Like a verb, an infinitive can also be modified by an adverb or a prepositional phrase: To exit quickly, please turn to your left. [infinitive to exit + adverb quickly] I can show you the way to reach the exit from here. [infinitive to reach + object the exit + prepositional phrase from here] In the above examples, to leave the concert, to exit quickly and to reach the exit from here are all infinitive phrases. Infinitive phrases may have their own subjects. The subject of an infinitive phrase is in the object form: Yuri helped him to count the money. Alison allowed me to drive her Porsche. Sometimes the word to is left out: Yuri helped him count the money. Alison let me drive her Porsche. An infinitive without to is called a bare infinitive. Other infinitive forms We can change the form of the infinitive to show different times: An avid skier, Roberta appeared to be praying for snow. [Ongoing action at the same time: She was praying when the speaker saw her.] Marty seems to have forgotten his wallet. [Completed action at an earlier time: He forgot it before this comment was made.] The tenant is thought to have been cooking at the time of the fire. [Ongoing action at an earlier time: The tenant was in the process of cooking when the fire broke out, as the investigators now believe.] Infinitives can also be used in the passive voice: The roof needs to be repaired as soon as possible. This man claims to have been abducted by aliens.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 2,157
noun clause
A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. Some clauses are independent: they can stand alone as sentences. Others are dependent: they cannot stand alone and need an independent clause, or sentence, to support them. These dependent clauses act as adjectives, adverbs or nouns. A dependent clause that acts as a noun is called a noun clause. Structure Noun clauses most often begin with the subordinating conjunction that. Other words that may begin a noun clause are if, how, what, whatever, when, where, whether, which, who, whoever, whom and why. Function Since a noun clause acts as a noun, it can do anything that a noun can do. A noun clause can be a subject, a direct object, an indirect object, an object of a preposition, a subject complement, an object complement or an appositive. Examples Subject: Whatever you decide is fine with me. Direct object: I can see by your bouncy personality that you’d enjoy bungee jumping. Indirect object: We will give whoever drops by a free Yogalates lesson. Object of preposition: Lacey talked at length about how she had won the perogy-eating contest. Subject complement: The problem is that my GPS is lost. Object complement: Call me whatever names you like; you’re still not borrowing my car. Appositive: Al’s assumption that bubble tea was carbonated turned out to be false. A key difference between noun clauses and other dependent clauses Other dependent clauses act as adjectives and adverbs. We can remove them and still have a complete independent clause left, with a subject and verb and any necessary complements. That is not the case with most noun clauses. Usually, a noun clause is too essential to the sentence to be removed. Consider these examples: Whether you drive or fly is up to you. I wondered if you would like to go to the barbecue. Sandy led us to where she had last seen the canoe. If we remove these noun clauses, what is left will not make much sense: … is up to you. I wondered …. Sandy led us to …. That is because, in each example above, the noun clause forms a key part of the independent clause: it acts as the subject, the direct object, the object of a preposition. Without those key parts, the independent clauses do not express complete thoughts. A sentence containing a noun clause is thus the one case in which an “independent” clause may actually need a dependent clause to be complete! Commas Noun clauses may need to be set off by one or two commas in the following situations. Appositives An appositive is a noun or nominal (a word or word group acting as a noun) that is placed next to another noun to explain it. For example, in the following sentence, the noun phrase the mayor of Riverton is an appositive explaining who John Allen is: John Allen, the mayor of Riverton, is speaking tonight. Noun clauses are nominals and can act as appositives. In that case, they may require commas if they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. I did not believe his original statement, that he had won the lottery, until he proved it to us. Here, the words his original statement identify which statement is meant, so the noun clause provides information that is merely additional and not essential. For that reason, the clause is set off with commas. Compare that example to the one below: I did not believe his statement that he had won the lottery until he proved it to us. In this case, the noun clause is essential for identifying which statement is meant. It therefore takes no commas. Unusual position If the noun clause is in an unusual position, it may require a comma: That the work was done, we cannot deny. (object before verb) BUTThat the work was done is certainly true. (subject before verb, as usual) Whatever I say, she argues with. (object before its preposition) BUTWhatever I say seems to annoy her. (subject before verb, as usual) Clarity As the above examples show, we do not normally use a comma for a noun clause acting as subject at the beginning of the sentence, because that is the usual position for a subject. However, a comma may sometimes be needed to prevent confusion if two identical verbs end up side by side: Who the owner of this money is, is a mystery. Whatever property Alexandra still had, had increased greatly in value.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 2,077
subject predicate order
Any complete sentence has two main parts, called the subject and the predicate. The subject is what the sentence is about; it is often a noun or a pronoun. The predicate is the part of the sentence that makes a statement about the subject; the main part of the predicate is the verb. Usually, the subject comes before the predicate in an English sentence: Janet and Alex went out for dinner. [subject = Janet and Alex; predicate = went out for dinner] They ordered green curry and rice. [subject = They; predicate = ordered green curry and rice] However, the subject isn’t always first. There are three situations in which the subject appears after the verb instead of before it. In most questions: Are you ready? (The subject you appears after the verb are.) Did I forget to feed my iguana again? (The subject I is placed after the helping verb did.) In many sentences beginning with here or there: Here comes the jury. (The subject jury appears after the verb comes.) There were fifteen cats and an eviction notice on Janet’s front porch. (The subject fifteen cats and an eviction notice is placed after the verb were.) In some sentences beginning with one or more prepositional phrases: Across the clearing and through the stream ran the frightened deer. (The subject deer appears after the verb ran.)Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,399