Questions tagged [predicative-complements]
The predicative-complements tag has no usage guidance.
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Is "remained considered guilty" grammatical?
I'm currently reading Huddleston and Pullum (2002). In section 1.3 (p. 79), they note that the following sentence is ungrammatical:
(1) The boss seemed considered guilty of bias.
I agree that this is ...
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Should I use "is'' or "are'' in the sentence, "The next canonical choice IS the so-called slip boundary conditions...''? [duplicate]
Should I use "is" or "are" in this sentence?
The next canonical choice [is/are] the so-called slip boundary conditions...
I've struggled to find an answer for this question ...
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What’s the meaning of ‘stand hacking‘? [duplicate]
I'm trying to understand this sentence:
For hours I stood hacking at the icy ground.
Which is in this excerpt of Viktor Frankl’s 1947 book, Man's Search for Meaning:
Another time we were at work in ...
1
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1
answer
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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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Are Complements of Objects Considered 'Predicative' and 'Locative'?
Subjects can take two types of complements: predicative (adjectives and nominals) and locative. Is this the same for objects?
Examples:
He painted the town red.
I kept the money out of sight.
...
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Is there a conceptual influence on plurality according to definable/indefinable number? [duplicate]
I found that my instinct was to say 'All I can see is the cat's whiskers' but my instinct was also to say 'All I can see are the cat's eyes'.
After some thought, either this is just a personal quirk ...
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“The difficulty is we need” vs. “The difficulty is ᴛʜᴀᴛ we need”
Is there a right or wrong answer in the following construction? Am
I missing a more elegant way to say this?
The main difficulty in the hiring process is we need a fluent
French speaker that also ...
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2
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330
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predicative complement vs predicative adjunct
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (Page 250) has this passage:
Here, Od is Direct Object, and Oi is Indirect Object.
It seems that CGEL is saying that almost raw in [i-ii] and fiendishly ...
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Predicative use of 'ongoing'
As a Spanish employee of a German multinational company, I have always cringed at my German colleagues' tendency to give 'ongoing' a predicative use, e.g. 'The meeting is ongoing'. I was sure that ...
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Hyphenation of compound adjective as object complement
Consider these three cases:
Here is the up-to-date information.
Mark this information up-to-date.
This information is up to date.
Those are spelled the ways that feel correct to me, but I'm not ...
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Are there hidden prepositions in these sentences? [duplicate]
My shoes are [of] the wrong color.
This new wallpaper is [of] an odd pattern.
At first, one could say these are noun phrases functioning as predicate nominatives; however, the awkwardness in meaning ...
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Objective complement?
When diagramming "You heard me sing," would you form a clause as the direct object, with me as the subject of the verb sing (even though me is an objective pronoun)? Or, would you think of ...
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Can we ever use "that" and "who" right next to each other?
I’ve learned that we can use that to provide more information for
abstract nouns, such as problem, belief, etc. I don’t quite understand
what that means, though, so let me try it out.
For example, ...
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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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Linking verb vs unchanged adverb
Page 21 of Garner's fourth edition reads
One must analyze the sentence rather than memorize a list of common
linking verbs. Often unexpected candidates serve as linking
verbs—e.g.:
• “The rule sweeps ...
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2
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152
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Complement of the object?
I'm reading Verbs of Incomplete Prediction in my grammar. It says that certain Transitive verbs take, beside an object, a complement to complete their predication. I have understood almost everything ...
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Part of speech of "likely"
It is likely to rain.
Here likely is a predicate adjective with to rain as the complement (correct me if I'm wrong).
Who took the cookie? It was likely Bob.
Is likely also a predicate adjective ...
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1
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only linking verbs with predicate adjectives and nominatives?
Can only linking verbs have predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives as complements?
If action verbs can have predicates as well then it would be really helpful to me if you could please share ...
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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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2
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625
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Form of predicative complement
I have two questions about predicative complements:
1) I've been scouring CaGEL* in pursuit of some kind of survey of forms functioning as subject predicative complement, but have failed miserably; I'...
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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 ...
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Can a plural subject be followed by a complement beginning “a…”?
Can anyone kindly explain why this sentence is correct?
Complex musical numbers are a defining characteristic of most Italian
films.
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my bank just sent a statement titled: Banking Done Different [duplicate]
Is it ever correct to write Banking Done Different? I am surprised to find this printed at the top of my savings account statement
2
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1
answer
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Hear it used this way? - Complement or Modifier
While writing the following sentence I was curious whether the sentence was correct. But after checking COCA, I came to now that similar expressions are in use. The sentence I wrote is:
Have you ...
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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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3
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376
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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.
...
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Correct or not: noun and adjective being predicative together
I'm thinking about such a sentence:
He is a lawyer, arrogant and smart.
or
He is an idiot, arrogant and short-sighted.
Please note that here I just want to list the noun and the ...
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Do metaphorical agents follow special rules?
While I can easily parse this sentence, something feels grammatically incorrect and I can't figure out what rule would make it right or wrong.
"Fatigue from traveling had him in bed by midnight."
...
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1
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They are not merely <inconveniences/an inconvenience>, they are <dangers/a danger> to health
This Guardian article titled "William Wordsworth review – inspiration and smoking chimneys" has this passage:
It is 14 years since the publication of Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth’s
income from ...
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Which verb do I use in: “All you need in life is/are coffee and good grammar”? [duplicate]
Should I use 'is' or 'are' in the sentence below?
All you need in life is/are coffee and good grammar.
This question is different from Agreement in "[Singular Noun] Is/Are [Plural Noun]"...
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2
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"I'm afraid she's gone too far this time" - Relative Clauses
I am going to have to explain all the parts of this sentence to a class, but I am having a little trouble identifying all the parts. The sentence is:
I'm afraid she's gone too far this time.
This ...
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He laid bare his soul
Generally, a predicative complement (PC) comes after the predicand:
(1) He laid his soul bare.
Here, 'bare' is the PC, and 'his soul' the predicand.
But when the predicand, genearlly a noun ...
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the majority of whom are male or males
Should I use singular or plural form of male here? I think it should be males. Am I correct?
Social and cultural traditions often make it difficult for aid workers, the majority of whom are [male/...
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“starting steep and leveling off horizontal” – adjective or adverb
Are steep and horizontal correctly written as adjectives or should they be adverbs in the following sentence?
Scaling around the trunk leads to a huge branch that expands out the other side ...
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Six feet/foot five: Does adding "inches" affect the grammatical form of "foot"?
Is it possible to say "six feet five" (inches are left out here)?
Or is "six foot five" the only correct variant? Does incluing "inches" affect the grammatical form of "foot"?
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subject verb agreement: "the downside are the messages" [duplicate]
Which is the correct one:
the big downside is the imperfect messages the user gets.
the big downside are the imperfect messages the user gets.
I am almost sure the second one is correct with "...
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1
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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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2
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The main ingredient is blueberries or the main ingredient is blueberry?
Which sentence is grammatically accurate or they both acceptable? "The main ingredient is blueberries" sounds better to me. "The main ingredient" is indicative of one type of ingredient, so does that ...
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Has the use of the subject pronoun after the verb "to be" become archaic?
"Is that your wretched husband on the phone again, my love?"
"Yes, of course it's him!"
Well, we all might think the use of "him" instead of "he" is wrong, but following "is" with "he" in ...
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What specifically is the difference between a 'content clause' and a 'complement clause'?
Here a complement clause is defined as:
a notional sentence or predication that is an argument of a predicate
Here a content clause is defined as:
a subordinate clause that provides content implied,...
user180089
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3
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Does "turned a bright blue" contain a predicate nominative or predicate adjective?
The liquid in the bowl turned a bright blue.
Please tell me if blue is a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective in this sentence and please explain why.
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Is it possible for a sentence to have a direct object and predicate adjective?
In school, I was taught that action verbs have direct objects and linking verbs have predicate adjectives or nominatives; however, some verbs seem to use both simultaneously.
For example, in "I made ...
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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?
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Is it right to say "Draw it big", and if so, does that mean that "big" is an adverb?
If I have already talked about drawing a circle and want to say to draw a big circle, is it right to say it like this:
Draw it big.
For this next sentence, would I need an adverb in the blank or ...
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When should we use an adjective instead of an adverb after verbs(main verb)?
Here's the SAT sentence that raised my curiosity:
Strong wind, sweeping almost unchecked over great distances, is
a prime component of the grassland climate.
Although I know the sentence above ...
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Can " were known" be considered as a copular verb?
I have to analyze the valency pattern of this clause "These glorious full colour prints that resulted were known as brocade pictures". Can I consider "were known" as a copular verb followed by the ...
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Why do we ask "Who is she?" in the subjective form? [closed]
If "her" is objective and "she" is subjective, why do we say:
'Who is she?'
instead of:
'Who is her?'
apart from the latter sounding a bit strange?
For instance:
'That car belongs to her.'
...
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Why "be king", not "be a king"? [duplicate]
I've heard people say "be king" (as in "I can't wait to be king") in movies and TV. Why don't they say "be a king"? Which is correct?
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"end up" peculiar properties
Just putting together a lexical lesson on making life changes and thought I'd use a sentence with 'end up'. However, when I ran through various sample sentences I noticed that it is quite an unusual ...
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Is 20 dollars here a direct object or a predicate complement? 'This book cost me 20 dollars.'
In this sentence:
This book cost me 20 dollars.
Is 20 dollars a direct object or a predicative complement?
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