Questions tagged [complements]
For questions about the use of, or meaning of, complements.
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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 ...
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Structure and usage of the construction - BE of
I have seen various sentences like this:
The availability of two reasonably complete mammalian genomes is of great help to gene finders. - The New York Times
I do my utmost to dress the actors very ...
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Analyzing the verb “to head”
This is both a usage question and a grammatical analysis question. I am familiar with complex transitive verbs, such as "to place", where one has to have at least one complement, besides the ...
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Is the relative clause always an adjunct/modifier of the antecedent?
The first two sentences mean the same thing, and so do the last two.
(1) She's obviously the person to finish the job.
(1') She's obviously the person who should finish the job.
(2) She was the first ...
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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,...
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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 ...
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Are copulars considered linking, helping, or auxiliaries?
I'm having a hard time understanding why most people consider the infinitive to be and all of its verb base forms helping verbs. I've consulted multiple English grammar sites and forums, and most of ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
user197581
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Complementation according to Quirk et al.: syntactic concept vs. semantic concept
According to the definition of "complementation" in "The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar", for most linguists complementation is a syntactic concept. However, the definition ...
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As if as though
I am having a problem identifing which gramatical function as if (as though, like) has
As far as I know
After linking verbs, we have noun/ noun phrase/ noun clause and adjective/ adjective phrase ...
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Is 'there' a locative complement in this example?
[1] He was the only one there.
In this sentence, 'the only one there' is an example of a predicative complement (subject complement), a predicative nominal. However, inside this noun phrase, we have ...
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What is the constituent type of 'laugh' in 'I saw her laugh'?
Could someone explain to me the constituent type of “laugh” as in “I saw her laugh”？ Best with an X-bar graph. I know it's a lot of trouble. You don't have to draw the whole thing, a simplified ...
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Does the sentence "I need you to make these calls for me" contain an object complement?
I'm currently working on my paper and predicative constructions confuse me so much. The book I use tells that object complements can follow the verbs of wish & intention, but there was no word ...
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agreement of the subject complement with the subject
A colleague of mine asked me, "Can we say 'My favorite food is hamburgers.'"
I said of course it is correct. But she said a native speaker says it is wrong. It should be "My favorite ...
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How can I tell if a prepositional phrase is a complement to a noun or a modifier? And how are these two different?
In the NP "mines in wartime", "in wartime" modifies the head "mines".
that nice tall man from Canada whom you met
"from Canada" modifies "man".
But ...
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Was this subject complement diagrammed correctly?
The sentence is the following. I'm focusing on the part in bold:
Feeding the goats is messy and time consuming.
It's in this book.
The author provides the following diagram:
And I think it should ...
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What is the nature of That-complementizer here?
It was in 1945 that World World 2 ended.
I think that is a complementizer, but I'm not sure of the nature of this complement. By nature I mean the part of speech of the complement clause and to what ...
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complement vs adjunct/modifier
In the following noun phrase, is the prepositional phrase from Lloyds complement or adjunct/modifier?
even all the preposterous salary from Lloyds that Bill gets
The Cambridge Grammar of The ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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Is a determiner a complement or a modifier of a noun?
The determiner such as the definite/indefinite article can come before a noun.
Is the determiner a complement or a modifier of a noun?
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Is it possible to have a "noun or noun phrase" as object/subject complement in "Depictive or Resultative" construction?
A sentence containing ditransitive verb can have two objects.
In the ditransitive verbs a subcategory, as it is described in some of the articles, usually called "Attributive ditransitive verbs&...
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On the arguments of 'put'
I have noticed that the verb 'put' usually takes a direct object and a (typically) prepositional, non-core complement, as in:
He put the book on the shelf
Sometimes, the prepositional complement is ...
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What is the difference between a predicate nominative/predicate adjectives and a subject complement?
For example, the sentence "John was a policeman" or "Ben was angry." Both describe the subject, so I'd call them subject complements. But they could also be a predicate nominative ...
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What are the subjects, objects, complements and gerunds in this sentence?
As with most great avant artists, it’s easier to describe how Arca makes you feel than what it is, exactly, she makes.
Just wanted clarification on a few things. What is the first part of the ...
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Adjective placed before a noun but adjectival complement after it
Page 14 of Practical English Usage reads
In some cases an adjective can be put before a noun and its complement
after it. This happens with different, similar, the same, next, last,
first, second etc;...
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Can a Noun or Noun phrase ever be Secondary Predicate complement or adjunct?
1
She drank the coffee [hot] - adjective
The winter froze the Lake [solid]-adjective
Sam painted the wall [green] - adjective
The boy delivered the package [wet] - adjective
She sells them [new] - ...
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Appositive or Complement?
The way (that) he eats amuses me.
I found the way (that) leads out of here.
I love ice-cream in the same way (that) I love my mom.
1) The part of speech of the word that is conjunction in ...
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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 the two ...
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"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 ...
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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 " ...
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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 ...
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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!
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How to Discern an Asyndetic Coordinate Subject Complement?
". . .to let fall is absolute indifference, absolute contempt;"
I think this got maybe discerned an asyndetic coordinate subject complement. May something like He was a moody man, his temper was ...
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