Lakhasly

Complements
A complement is a word or group of words that says something
about the subject or object of a sentence.
A complement is always a noun or an adjective or a word-group that
functions like a noun or an adjective.
I am an old man now.
She was so tired after working all day in the garden.
Her eyes are blue.
Someday I will prove you wrong!
We always thought her very reliable.
Did You Know?
A 'complement' is called a complement because it 'completes' the
sense of a sentence by saying what someone or something is or is
like.
Beware: The word 'complement' is used in grammatical descriptions
of English in a number of different ways, referring to various
categories of word or word-group that are needed to complete the
sense of a sentence. Other uses of the word 'complement' wilt be
described in later units of this book.
Did You Know?
Linking verbs are also known as intensive verbs or copulas. Copula
is a Latin word meaning 'link'.
Subject-complements
A subject-complement says something about the subject of the
sentence, for example what it is or what it is like.
Her daughter seems very happy in her new job.
This cheese is nice.
They felt realty stupid when they saw what they had done.
You'll get wet if you go out in the rain.
Three years later he became a priest.
That girl's my daughter and that's her boyfriend over there.
His reaction was a bit over the top.
The verb that links a subject and a subject-complement is called a
linking verb:
Some plums are green and some are purple.
Her parents are doctors.
She seems very happy.
That tastes nice.
That smells good.
She got angrier and angrier.
She became an American citizen in 1981.
Joan felt a bit silly.
Leaves turn brown in autumn.
The weather has turned out fine again today.
Grammar Help
It can be difficult to distinguish a sentence consisting of Subject

• Verb + Direct Object from one consisting of Subject + Verb +
  Subject-complement. However, a 'Verb + Object' construction says
  what somebody does to something, whereas a 'Verb + Complement'
  construction says what somebody or something is or is like:
  She tasted the juice. (direct object - the verb describes what she
  did)
  The juice tasted sweet. (subject-complement - describing what the
  juice was like)
  They weighed the parcel. (direct object - the verb describes what
  they did)
  The parcel weighed five kilos. (subject-complement - describing
  what the parcel was like)
  A word or word-group can be a subject-complement even if there
  is no expressed subject in the sentence, as is the case with most
  imperative sentences:
  Don't be so silly.
  Please stay calm.
  In exclamatory sentences, the subject-complement often comes
  before the subject and the linking verb:
  What a lovely day it is!
  How stupid of us that was!
  How lovely you look in that dress!
  The angrier she became, the more she stuttered.
  Lonely was the life I led in those days.
  An exclamatory sentence may even consist of a subject-complement
  alone:
  What a lovely day!
  How stupid of us!
  Or it may consist of a subject and subject-complement without a
  verb:
  You silly boy! (= You are a silly boy!)
  Object-complements
  An object-complement says something about the direct object of
  a sentence.
  They made him chairman.
  They anointed Solomon king.
  They've painted the walls green and the ceiling blue.
  I like my coffee black.
  I don't find this very satisfactory.
  The court finds you not guilty.
  Grammar Help
  Some verbs can be both transitive verbs and linking verbs. One such
  verb is got: e.g. She got a fright. (transitive verb)
  She got very scared. (linking verb)
  Did You Know?
  Many jokes are based on the different ways in which sentences that
  can be interpreted grammatically.
  This is a joke based on the similarity between Subject + Verb +
  Indirect Object + Direct Object and Subject + Verb + Direct
  Object + Object-complement:
  Two men were walking along the street when one fell into a hole
  and broke his leg. 'Quick, 'he said to his friend. 'Call me an
  ambulance.' 'Okay,' said the other man. 'You're an ambulance.'
  Grammar Help
  There are three ways of distinguishing between sentences
  containing a direct object and an indirect object and sentences
  constructed with a direct object and an object-complement:

1. A direct object and an object-complement always refer to the
   same person or thing:
   They elected Stella chairman. (Stella - chairman)
   We've appointed Susan the union rep. (Susan = the union rep)
   Direct and indirect objects, on the other hand, always refer to
   different people or things:
   She lent me her new pen. (me # her new pen)
   Did you show her the photos? (her # the photos)


2. An indirect object precedes a direct object, whereas an object-
   complement follows the direct object:
   They gave her a present. (direct object 'a present'; indirect
   object 'her')
   They elected her chairman, (direct object 'her': object-
   complement 'chairman')


3. An indirect object can generally be replaced by a word-group
   beginning with to or for, whereas the direct object in front of an
   object-complement cannot be replaced in this way:
   She lent her new pen to me.
   Did you show the photos to her?
   BUT NOT
   We've appointed the union rep to Susan.
   Sometimes sentences with these two different constructions look
   very similar, but they can always be distinguished in the three ways
   suggested above:
   She called him a taxi. (verb + indirect object + direct object)
   She called him an idiot. (verb + direct object + object-
   complement)
   He made his children a tree house. (verb + indirect object +
   direct object)
   He made his wife his business partner. (verb + direct object +
   object-complement)
   Notice that make may sometimes be followed by an indirect object
   and a subject-complement:
   Mary will make him a good wife. ('a good wife' describes 'Mary':
   'him' = for him')
   Complex Transitive Verbs
   A verb that has a direct object and an object-complement is called
   a complex transitive verb.
   sentences with object-complements, since such sentences describe
   many different possible actions performed by the subject of the
   sentence:
   Someday I will prove you wrong!
   He filed the wood smooth.
   I hereby declare this bazaar open.
   Leave the windows open, please.
   They consider him a total liability.
   I find the whole project absolutely pointless.
   They have appointed Susan the new union representative.
   She wiped her face dry with a towel.
   Pour the mixture into the dish and pat it flat.
   Could I have made my explanation any simpler?
   Scrub the floor clean.
   I would judge this project a failure.
   Make both lines equal.
   We must presume her dead.
   Rinse the cardigan free of soap.
   Are you calling me a liar?
   You should count yourself lucky.