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Laborious Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Gerund as 'subject complement'

Dear members of the Forum, I read on some sites that we could use 'gerunds' as 'subject complements'. 

Here are some examples:

- Our primary need is eradicating poverty. 

- His mistake was neglecting his health. 

The words in bold are 'gerunds' in the above sentences and they are acting as the 'complements of subjects'. But, could you please highlight the subjects of the complements 'eradicating' and 'neglecting' in these sentences? Are the underlined parts ('our primary need is' and 'his mistake was') subjects in the sentences I've written above?

Thank you. 
  

Top answer

Laborious Are the underlined parts ('our primary need is' and 'his mistake was') subjects in the sentences I've written above? The subjects are 'Our primary need' and 'His mistake'.

— Mister Micawber

  • Laborious Are the underlined parts ('our primary need is' and 'his mistake was') subjects in the sentences I've written above?
  • The subjects are 'Our primary need' and 'His mistake'.
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4 Answers
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Laborious Are the underlined parts ('our primary need is' and 'his mistake was') subjects in the sentences I've written above?
The subjects are 'Our primary need' and 'His mistake'.
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Thank you, Mr. Micawber, for replying.

So, 'is' and 'was' are verbs in those examples. Are the complements 'eradicating poverty' and 'neglecting his health' or just 'eradicating' or 'neglecting'?

Thank you again, Mr.M, for your help.
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LaboriousSo, 'is' and 'was' are verbs in those examples
Is and was are always verbs.
LaboriousAre the complements 'eradicating poverty' and 'neglecting his health' or just 'eradicating' or 'neglecting'?
The whole non-finite clauses are the complements.
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