Questions tagged [complements]
The complements tag has no usage guidance, but it has a tag wiki.
104
questions
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1answer
51 views
The way which you should hold them
The Cambridge Grammar of the english Language, page 224, reads
Complements are most often NPs, and conversely NPs are usually
complements. Some NPs can occur with adjunct function, but they tend
...
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0answers
35 views
How to determine if a complement is a predicative complement or a locative complement?
(1) She is out and will be back in soon.
(2) She is out and will be conscious soon.
Is out a locative complement in (1) but a predicative complement in (2)?
If so, is the distinction between ...
0
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1answer
74 views
participles as object complements
Can participles or participial phrases serve as object complements in traditional grammar? And are direct objects viewed as a type of complement in traditional grammar?
I'd appreciate reference to ...
0
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1answer
30 views
Structure after All/What with predicative complement
Possibly didn’t make the subject clear enough. I don’t know if that can be changed?
To me, structures of this type should follow what you normally use after the main verb.
For instance:
All I want ...
0
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3answers
83 views
What is the grammatical topic of this shortening technique?
Extracted from English cloze test:
.....these virtual selves exist in the same online spaces that many people use every day. And this is a new and unfamiliar phenomenon that some people might ...
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1answer
52 views
Object or complement with “have”
Take the following sentence:
"He has blue eyes"
Does "blue eyes" act as an object or a complemet?
Would the answer be different in a sentence such as:
3
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1answer
71 views
Is 'to smoke' a complement or adjunct in this sentence?
I hope you are all well.
He stopped to smoke.
Is to smoke a complement of stop or is it an infinitive-of-purpose adjunct?
0
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1answer
56 views
Can 'smart home' and similar phrases be adjectives if followed by a noun, or do they become complements? [closed]
I'm having some confusion here as I've been tasked with checking that some texts fit a style guide for work, and it requires that two adjectives directly preceding a noun be hyphenated, e.g. 'well-...
2
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1answer
47 views
How to understand the “of somebody” part
It is recounted of Thomas Carlyle that when he heard of the illness of his friend, Henry Taylor, he went off immediately to visit him, carrying with him in his pocket what remained of a bottle of ...
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2answers
95 views
“They reported being told to…” Trying to explain
I have never really thought about this one before, but out of curiosity, is it grammatical to have "being" after the verb "report"? Here is an example:
"They reported being told to stay behind the ...
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0answers
48 views
Why aren't degree modifiers complements?
As far as I've been able to figure out, in the CaGEL* framework, complements are items that are licensed by some other element (generally the head), so that if an item has to be licensed, it is per ...
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49 views
Function of PPs with predicative complements
According to CaGEL* (e.g. p.636 ff), prepositions can take predicative complements, as in
[1] She worked as a waitress
[2] He passed for dead
[3] I took you for granted
[4] They left him for ...
5
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2answers
190 views
What is the nature of, and syntactic distinction between, modifier and complement?
I am struggling to understand the syntactic relevance of the distinction between complement and modifier in theories such as the one presented in the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by ...
2
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1answer
57 views
CaGEL equivalent to obligatory adverbial?
When I learnt grammar in school, I was taught that there are optional and obligatory adverbials. Trying to understand grammar in the form presented by Huddleston and Pullum (e.g. the Cambridge Grammar ...
7
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1answer
285 views
How transitivity is defined in CGEL
This question is specifically for those who are familiar with the 2002
edition of The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language by Huddleston
and Pullum.
The book has this passage at ...
1
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1answer
83 views
Are these 'that'-clauses complements or adjuncts?
(1) It's a plan [that is being touted as the most modest proposal considered yet in Congress].
Here, the that-clause is a relative clause that modifies the antecedent 'plan', so I believe it's not a ...
5
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1answer
136 views
Determining licensing in CaGel by means of substitution test
I read a comment on licensing in another post, which made me revisit this concept. Unfortunately I haven't got access to CaGEL – only to its "little brother", Huddleston and Pullum's A Student's ...
1
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2answers
99 views
Indirect complement or postmodifier in NP
In the sentence
[1] He is the most talented artist (that) I know
what is (that) I know in terms of function – an indirect complement, licensed by most, or simply a common postmodifier? Why?
...
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1answer
103 views
“Far from happy” Preposition followed by an adjective?
It occurs me that in such sentences as
He is far from happy.
However, just as the critics are not of one mind in their criticism, so they are far from united on what to do.
the preposition ...
0
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3answers
200 views
What exactly falls under the label of “complement”?
There seems to be a lot of contradicting beliefs out there regarding complements and what they cover -- or maybe I am just confusing myself. However, I cannot seem to find an answer that I understand.
...
2
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1answer
167 views
The exit to or exit from a place?
New York Times article about restuarant employees blocking patrons from leaving the building:
One of the arresting officers, Anthony Sengco, wrote in his criminal
complaint that he observed Dr. ...
2
votes
1answer
82 views
I am confused with usage about 'the' and object complement
Is the sentence as below correct in grammar? And is it clear enough?
Please copy & paste keyword, mykeyword, into the search box of Google
Play Store app or website to locate this pure app ...
5
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2answers
594 views
How to tell if something is a core complement or a non-core complement?
CaGEL on page 216 cite the following:
"Kim gave the key to Pat"
An NP indirectly related to the verb through the preposition is referred as an oblique. The phrase "to Pat" is a non-core ...
4
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1answer
614 views
What distinguishes a predicative complement from an object?
Asked this on ELL but with no answer:
What makes be an intransitive verb? How do we know that the analysis of It is me as transitive by tradtional grammars is incorrect?
Take for example:
1. I gave ...
6
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2answers
403 views
Similar adjectives to “worth”
This laptop is worth $140.
Here worth does not need a following preposition. However, when I say, for example:
I am curious about his motivation behind his decision.
The word curious is an ...
9
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3answers
3k views
Is “I am who(m) God made me” grammatical?
SAH asked an interesting question about case, I am [who/whom] G-d made me, but one issue that came up in the comments repeatedly is that many people said that they find the example sentence ...
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1answer
327 views
Which is the direct object and which is the object complement in this sentence? [duplicate]
I was reading a book on English grammar and it stated that the object complement may also be an adjective. In the sentence "Roger called George heartless", Roger was the subject, called was the verb, ...
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238 views
Is there such a thing as the “indirect complement” of a noun?
CaGEL* explains the concept of "indirect complements" on page 443 as follows:
If it's the complement of a noun, be it direct or indirect, it's part of a noun phrase (NP) headed by the noun, right? So,...
2
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1answer
254 views
Is the definite/indefinite article a complement or a modifier of a noun?
The definite/indefinite article -- the/a(n) -- always comes before a noun and can never be used without a noun.
Is the definite/indefinite article a complement or a modifier of a noun?
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113 views
syntactic analysis of a phrase with FROM…TO
In the sentence
Everything we do, from eating and ice cream to crossing the Atlantic and from baking a loaf to writing a novel, involves the use of coal, directly or indirectly.
I can't come ...
0
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0answers
376 views
“the fact that…” grammatical construction
In the following sentence:
The issue is the fact that it is red.
What type of grammatical form is "that it is red"?
I think that it is some kind of noun clause that functions as an objective ...
0
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0answers
24 views
lead to vs relocate
I read "lead many companies to relocate in rural areas (1)"
This is typo ?
We can make a complete sentence " The government leads many companies to relocate in rural areas "
I have a doubt that " ...
0
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1answer
97 views
What is the function of “for more productivity” on this sentence?
rapid population increases drive the search for more productivity.
What is the function of "for more productivity"? is it a complement or an adverbial?
Thank you!
5
votes
3answers
1k views
Can prepositional phrases be subject complements?
I’m an ESL teacher without much formal training (at this stage). I have however Googled grammar questions many times and been redirected here, so this time I'm actually posting. I’m trying to explain ...
0
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1answer
31 views
Mckee believed WAS the Mary Rose Vs Mackee believed TO BE the Mary Rose [duplicate]
In 1967 , Edgerton's side-scan sonar systems revealed a large , unusually shaped object , which Mckee believed WAS the Mary Rose.
Shouldn't this be "Mackee believed TO BE the Mary Rose"?
Can ...
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1answer
125 views
not followed by to or ing
Take a look at this sentences:
1 I usually try not BE so rude.
2 I usually try not TO be so rude.
3 I usually try not BEING so rude .
4 All I need is TAKE a rest .
5 All I need is TO take a ...
3
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1answer
394 views
Is this an adverbial complement? “They led me _to believe that there was no danger_.”
I'm a novice who realised the existence of this site today. The following picture is from Idiomatic and Syntactic English Dictionary by A.S. Hornby:
Pattern 10
Verbs marked P 10 may be ...
2
votes
2answers
759 views
Participial Phrases As Objective Complement
Can a participial phrase be used as an objective complement? If so, is there a way to tell when the participial phrase is or is not used as an objective complement?
How would this sentence be ...
3
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3answers
656 views
Does “Predicate” includes object, complement and modifiers?
I'm currently studying the "Sentence Structure" for the English language. I've found varied information in this regard.
Some sources says that the sentence consist of five components: Subject + ...
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0answers
59 views
Is “with Trevor” in “dined with Trevor” adjunct or complement?
We dined with Trevor the following Monday.
I'm doing a test to figure out whether the constituent "with Trevor" is an adjunct or complement to the verb "dine". It is called the "did so" test as some ...
1
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2answers
60 views
'I suppose the country can only properly be given to a child – as from birth it was given to me.' Does this sentence make sense?
In The Firstborn, British author Laurie LEE, famous for his autobiographical novel Cider with Rosie, wrote – about his newborn daughter Jessy:
I suppose the country can only properly be given to a ...
2
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1answer
395 views
What is the grammar structure? “I am not going to stand here watching you do it”?
Is this sentence correct?
I am not going to stand here watching you do it.
I saw it in an article. If it is - and I think it is - why is "watching" a gerund? What is the grammar structure? Is it a ...
2
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1answer
165 views
Use of “confess” when followed by interrogative clause (e.g. I confessed to my parents what I ate last night)
I am not a native speaker, but just wondering if you can use a non-why question as the embedding clause of confess.
a. I confessed to my wife why I started smoking again.
(Pretty sure this one ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
'Out to get me.'
"He was out to get me."
'Out' is not a verb, so 'He was out' looks like subject/linking verb/PA, except that quite plainly 'out to get me' carries the full meaning, because 'He was out' on its own ...
0
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1answer
3k views
make it after 3 o'clock
I heard someone say "make it (the meeting) after 3 o'clock." To me, it sounded pretty idiomatic, but I was unsure as to the grammar of it.
"After three o'clock" is a prepositional phrase, then how ...
1
vote
1answer
723 views
Discontinuous noun phrase and apposition involving object complements
I was wondering whether these uses of discontinuity are valid. Here are two uses I would like to question:
The use of discontinuous noun phrase:
[1a] He made the system useless that could have ...
4
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1answer
345 views
Subject or subject complement
In the sentence "What is it that makes us happy?", is 'what' the subject or the subject complement?
Does 'that' refer back to 'it' or to 'What'?
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1answer
8k views
The difference between 'wish I will be' and 'wish to be'
For example:
I wish I will be an Engineer.
I wish to be an Engineer.
is there any difference between the two sentences?
5
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6answers
738 views
In structures such as 'football manager', is 'football' a modifier or a complement of the head noun?
I thought I'd post this as it illustrates a problem often encountered on ELU.
In structures such as 'football manager', is 'football' a modifier or
a complement of the head noun?
I've seen both ...
2
votes
1answer
339 views
Important to learn is this stuff
This song is fun to sing.
This pizza is too hot to eat.
Is the infinitive there considered a complement of the predicate adjective?
