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Big dream Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

infinitive phrase as object complement!

Hi,

We watched him play basketball.

'Play basketball' is an infinitive phrase functioning as object complement.

Am I correct, please?
  

Top answer

No, "play basketball" is not an object complement, though "him" is object. This is a special kind of construction called 'catenative', where "watched" is a catenative verb and "play basketball" is a catenative complement . Where an object (like "him" in your example) intervenes between the verb and its complement, it is called a complex catenative construction.

— BillJ

  • No, "play basketball" is not an object complement, though "him" is object.
  • This is a special kind of construction called 'catenative', where "watched" is a catenative verb and "play basketball" is a catenative complement .
  • Where an object (like "him" in your example) intervenes between the verb and its complement, it is called a complex catenative construction.
  • BillJ
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2 Answers
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No, "play basketball" is not an object complement, though "him" is object.

This is a special kind of construction called 'catenative', where "watched" is a catenative verb and "play basketball" is a catenative complement. Where an object (like "him" in your example) intervenes between the verb and its complement, it is called a complex catenative construction.

BillJ
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