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Avangi Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Grammatical sense of "complement"
Grammatical sense of "complement"
Hi,
I learned this noun here, and came to think if it as describing a word or expression which "completed" the "action" of a being verb, or verb of sense, etc.
Now the term "subject complement" seems to be in vogue.
I'm comfortable in saying that a linking verb can link a discriptor to a noun subject, but I don't feel that eg. an adjective complement "completes" anything about the subject, in the transitive sense.
When I say "adjective complement," I'm naming the part of speech of the complement (I think).
If I say "verb complement," I'm describing what the complement does to the verb.
When I say "subject complement," I presume I'm saying that the complement links to the subject (of the clause?). But I'm not comfortable with it at all. It seems like a misnomer.
I don't know if "subject" modifies "complement," or the other way around. In what sense does the complement complete the subject?
When a trained grammarian says "subject complement," how does he view the sense of "complement"?
Thanks. - A.
Hi,
I learned this noun here, and came to think if it as describing a word or expression which "completed" the "action" of a being verb, or verb of sense, etc.
Now the term "subject complement" seems to be in vogue.
I'm comfortable in saying that a linking verb can link a discriptor to a noun subject, but I don't feel that eg. an adjective complement "completes" anything about the subject, in the transitive sense.
When I say "adjective complement," I'm naming the part of speech of the complement (I think).
If I say "verb complement," I'm describing what the complement does to the verb.
When I say "subject complement," I presume I'm saying that the complement links to the subject (of the clause?). But I'm not comfortable with it at all. It seems like a misnomer.
I don't know if "subject" modifies "complement," or the other way around. In what sense does the complement complete the subject?
When a trained grammarian says "subject complement," how does he view the sense of "complement"?
Thanks. - A.
Top answer
This is all I think about, really: Traditionally, a complement is a constituent of a clause, such as a noun phrase or adjective phrase, that is used to predicate a description of the subject or object of the clause .
- This is all I think about, really: Traditionally, a complement is a constituent of a clause, such as a noun phrase or adjective phrase, that is used to predicate a description of the subject or object of the clause .
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3 Answers
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This is all I think about, really:
Traditionally, a complement is a constituent of a clause, such as a noun phrase or adjective phrase, that is used to predicate a description of the subject or object of the clause.
Traditionally, a complement is a constituent of a clause, such as a noun phrase or adjective phrase, that is used to predicate a description of the subject or object of the clause.
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Hmmm, looking at resha's recent post, to which you and CJ replied, I'm beginning to understand that my early impression that a complement completes was totally out of whack.
I had taken the position that in the sentence "Jack should have been [fired]," (taking the view that "fired" is an adjective complement) if "fired" is omitted, the clause is incomplete.
When
I had taken the position that in the sentence "Jack should have been [fired]," (taking the view that "fired" is an adjective complement) if "fired" is omitted, the clause is incomplete.
When
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