Object Complements

Question

I'm not an optimist that I will make any progress.I'm not optimistic that I will make any progress.Please tell me the form and function of these clausesMy guess is that they are nominal and adjective object complements respectively.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

#1 is no good.  The clause in #2 seems like an adjective complement (not object).

English 1b3 · Answer

Mister Micawber The clause in #2 seems like an adjective complement (not object).

Right, thanks.

Do we use adjective complement to name the following different constructions?

I am angry.

I am angry that I was not allowed to go.

Mister Micawber · Answer

The first is a predicate adjective, of course.  It may be listed as 'C' by parsers? Then the second would be SVCC.  But I was never any good at parsing-- I was never taught it.

English 1b3 · Answer

Thanks, MM. Could you please tell me why 1 is incorrect? (I have an idea, but you will clear up any doubt, I'm sure).

BillJ · Answer

English 1b3I'm not an optimist that I will make any progress.

I'm not optimistic that I will make any progress.
Please tell me the form and function of these clauses

My guess is that they are nominal and adjective object complements respectively.

Your guess is half-right! In both sentences the subordinate content clause that I will make any progress is a complement, but it's not an object complement because optimist and optimistic are not objects. Optimist may appear to be an object but it's actually a predicative complement NP and optimistic is not even a noun; it's an adjective, so it's a predicative complement AdjP. The reason that optimist and optimistic aren't objects lies with the special linking verb be which is intransitive and therefore can't take an object.

Unfortunately though, your first sentence is ungrammatical because you can't use that particular content clause with the noun optimist. A 'content clause' (in your example) is a complement and is licensed (allowed) by only a small proportion of nouns; unfortunately optimist isn't one of them (cf You can't ignore the fact that I will make some progress, where the noun fact licenses the content clause that I will make some progress).

BillJ

English 1b3 · Answer

Thanks, BillJ. I'm aware they aren't objects, but complements. Silly mistake.

BillJA 'content clause' (in your example) is a complement and is licensed (allowed) by only a small proportion of nouns; unfortunately optimist isn't one of them (cf You can't ignore the fact that I will make some progress, where the noun fact licenses the content clause that I will make some progress).

That's what I wanted to know. Thanks. So what is the name of the subordinate content clause following the adjective 'optimistic'?

BillJ · Answer

English 1b3
That's what I wanted to know. Thanks. So what is the name of the subordinate content clause following the adjective 'optimistic'?

Its full name is 'declarative content clause', no more than that. You used the same declarative content clause that I will make any progress in both your sentences, but the first one was ungrammatical because it could not be 'licensed' by the noun optimist.

Declarative content clauses are the most common kind of finite subordinate clause (they're often called the default kind of finite subordinate clause) - they can complement verbs, nouns (like your first sentence), adjectives (like your second sentence) and prepositions but importantly because they are complements they must be' licensed' by the head they complement or the sentence becomes ungrammatical, which is what happened with you first sentence.

BillJ

Object Complements

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