Complements
I.
Often times a sentence has only a subject and a verb. For example:
a. Owls hooted.
b. The ballerina in white was leaping.
II.
Sometimes, a sentence will have a subject, a base, as well as a “completer” known as a
complement.
a. A complement completes the meaning begun by the subject and the verb.
III.
It is possible for a group of words to have a subject and a verb and not express a complete
thought. For example:
a. This stew tastes
b. She always was
c. The car hit
IV.
If you add a complement, then the sentences make sense.
a. This stew tastes funky.
b. She always was a psychopath.
c. The car hit the ice cream display.
V.
What are the subject, verb, and complement of the following sentences?
a. The cat watched us.
b. The men at that store are courteous.
c. In our town taxes will be quite high.
d. Marcella might become a chemist.
e. Those termites caused extensive damage.
VI.
RULE: A complement is NEVER in a prepositional phrase.
VII.
Practice (identify the subject, verb, and complement):
a. The history of the English stage is very interesting.
b. In the beginning churches gave plays for instruction.
c. The stories of early English drama were usually Biblical ones.
VIII.
There is a specific type of complement called a subject complement.
a. A subject complement is a noun, pronoun, or adjective that follows a linking verb. It
describes or explains the simple subject. For example:
i. Mark Twain’s real name was Samuel Clemens.
ii. The surface felt sticky.
1. A predicate nominative is a type of subject complement. It is a noun or
pronoun in the predicate that explains or identifies the subject of the
sentence. For example:
a. Angela will be our soloist.
b. The astronaut is she.
c. A whale is a mammal.
2. A predicate adjective is another type of subject complement. It is an
adjective in the predicate that modifies the subject of the sentence.
a. That soil looks dry.
b. The soup is too hot.
c. She looks capable.
IX. Practice (Identify the subject complements and identify if it’s a PA or PN in part VII)
Practice.
Label the subject, verb, and complement. Also identify if it is a subject complement, and
if so, is it a PN or PA.
1. The plays, however, eventually became too irreverent for religious instruction.
2. The clergy then recommended the abolition of acting within the churches.
3. At the same time, they encouraged the performance of religious drama in
courtyards near the churches.
4. The actors presented their plays on wagons in the open air.
5. The top of the wagon soon became a convenient place for “heaven.”
6. In Shakespeare’s time, the upper stage was an important part of the theater.
7. Shakespeare used the upper stage for the famous balcony scene in Romeo and
Juliet.
8. A carwash can be a good fund-raiser.
9. With that thought in mind, the freshman class planned a carwash for last
Saturday.
10. On Saturday the sky did not look good.
11. In fact, the weather report predicted thunderstorms.
12. We washed many cars.
13. Our first customer, at 9 A.M., paid us a compliment.
14. She said that we were brave.
15. The rain began as she was speaking, and she saw our disappointment.
16. “Don’t worry,” she said, “There is nothing like a rainwater rinse.”
17. To this comment, Jim-Bob punched the car.