SYNTAX: is the set of rules, principles, and processes that govern the structure of sentences in a

given language, usually including word order. The term syntax is also used to refer to the study of such
principles and processes. The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a
language.

SENTENCE: Group of words that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.
Elements that make up a sentence: Subject, Verb, Complement (often necessary, but not always) modifiers
of subject, verb, or complement (not necessary but usually present) miscellaneous elements.

THE SUBJECT: that part about which something is said. refers to the doer of the action or to what (or whom)
the sentence is all about. It can either be a person, a place, a thing, or an idea, and can come in the form of a
noun or a pronoun.
In English grammar, the subject is the part of a sentence or clause that commonly indicates (a) what it is
about, or (b) who or what performs the action (that is, the agent).
The subject is typically a noun ("The dog . . ."), a noun phrase ("My sister's Yorkshire terrier . . ."), or
a pronoun ("It . . ."). The subject pronouns are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who, and whoever.
In a declarative sentence, the subject usually appears before the verb ("The dog barks").
In an interrogative sentence, the subject usually follows the first part of a verb ("Does the dog ever bark?").
In an imperative sentence, the subject is commonly said to be "you understood" ("Bark!"). Its etymology is
from the Latin, "to throw".
How to Identify the Subject
"The clearest way of spotting the subject of a sentence is to turn the sentence into a yes-no question (by this
we mean a question which can be answered with either 'yes' or 'no'). In English, questions are formed by
reversing the order between the subject and the first verb which follows it.
Look at the following example:
He can keep a Tamagotchi alive for more than a week.
The appropriate question here if we want a 'yes' or 'no' as an answer is:
Can he keep a Tamagotchi alive for more than a week?
Here 'he' and 'can' have changed places and that means that 'he' must be the subject in the first sentence. . . .
Challenging Traditional Definitions of a Subject
"The traditional definition of subject as referring to the 'doer of an action' (or agent), though it is adequate for
central or typical cases, will not work for all cases. For example, in passive sentences, such as John was
attacked, the subject is John, but John is certainly not the 'doer' of the attacking. Again, not all sentences, even
those with transitive verbs, express any action. Examples are This book cost fifty francs and I loathe
relativism.
But such sentences have always traditionally been held to have subjects (in these cases, this book and I)."
A simple subject is a single noun or pronoun connected to a verb. Normally, the simple subject of a sentence
will come before the verb. While the complete subject may contain modifiers (adjectives, relative clauses,
and prepositional phrases), the simple subject contains only one, unmodified person, place, thing, or idea.
The simple subject is the subject without any modifiers
Every complete sentence includes at least one simple subject.
Simple Subject: the simple subject refers to the noun or pronoun which is being or doing something. this
doesn’t require you to include the descriptive words (modifiers)—just the main noun or pronoun. A simple
subject is a standalone noun (a person, place, thing, or idea):
The mighty superhero saved the day.
She is indeed the epitome of kindness.
In addition to nouns, pronouns can also be simple subjects.
Whoever collects the most stickers wins.
Although whoever is an unspecified pronoun, it is still clearly the focus of the sentence. Any pronoun can be
the simple subject of a sentence.

Predicate Nouns:
Sometimes, a simple subject does not perform an action, but instead is equated (or linked) to another noun
phrase. This is done with the verb “to be.”
Kenji is that firefighter.
This sentence could be rewritten as
That firefighter is Kenji.
In the first version, Kenji is the simple subject. In the second version, firefighter is the simple subject. So,
when two nouns are equated by a form of “to be,” the first noun is considered the subject of the sentence,
while the second noun is part of the predicate.
One-word Subjects
My brother rides his bike to school.
Compound Nouns and Proper Nouns
Compound Nouns is a noun that is made up of two or more words. Most compound nouns in English are
formed by nouns modified by other nouns or adjectives.
Ice cream is my favorite dessert
Because we can’t say which part of the compound modifies the other, we must treat ice cream as an
independent concept. This kind of compound noun stands alone as a single noun and can be considered a
simple subject.
Proper nouns: only single-word proper names are proper nouns: Peter and Africa are both proper names and
proper nouns. Proper nouns may also contain two or more words while still referring to a single concept:
American Samoa is an island territory of the United States.
Here, American is part of the proper name American Samoa. The two words are part of the single name of a
territory.
Sometimes the subject of a sentence does not perform the action of the verb, but instead has an action
performed on it. The verbs in these sentences are called passive verbs.
The dog chased the cat.
The dog is chased by the cat.
In this sentence, dog is not performing the action of “chasing,” but is instead receiving that action by being
“chased by the cat.” Although the meaning of the sentence has been reversed and the dog is no longer
performing the action, dog is still the simple subject because it comes before the verb.
There are many different ways to ask questions in English. Usually, normal word order changes when we ask
questions. This can make it confusing to identify the simple subject of a sentence. However, when an
interrogative pronoun (who, what, which) begins a sentence, it will always be the simple subject:
Who said that we didn’t have class today?
In this case, the focus of the sentence is who. Who is also the noun that performs the action of the verb
(said).When “to be” is used to ask a question, the simple subject of a sentence may be very vague:
Example 2
Who is the girl on the swing?
Although “girl” is much more specific than who, “the girl” is not the focus of the sentence. We know that who
is the focus because it comes before “the girl.”
Example 3
Which of these books is yours?
Which here is the simple subject because it is the main focus of the sentence.
Example 4
Is that the boy you were talking about?
That here is the simple subject. The verb (is) equates that with “the boy.” Because that comes first, it is the
main focus of the sentence.
When making a command, both in speech and in writing, we are always instructing someone: either “you” or
“you all.”
Hand me the screwdriver.
The sentence can be rewritten to show the understood subject:
[You] hand me the screwdriver.
Since every complete sentence must have a subject, we say that you is the simple subject. Even though it is
not explicitly included, you is not only the person who performs the action of the verb (hand), but is also the
main focus of the sentence.
There are four ways to form these questions: with a change in word order, with a tag question, with a change in
emphasis, or with the verb “to do.”
Is that a new hat? “that is” → “is that” indicates a yes/no question
You like my new hat, right? “Right?” indicates a yes/no question
Do you like my new hat? “Do you” indicates a yes/no question
In these examples, the simple subject is clear: both that and you come before the verb, and so each is the
main focus of the sentence.
The way we give a command is by leaving the pronoun “you” out of the sentence; after all, it’s always clear that
we are talking to “you.”
Eat your dinner with a spoon.
Although you is not contained in the sentence, it is still the simple subject. When you is the simple subject
but does not appear in a sentence, we refer to you as “understood,” since we understand that it is intended
even though it’s not there.

Noun Compounds
We learned about compound nouns (like ice cream), which are single nouns composed of two or more
words. Compound nouns cannot be split into separate nouns without the second noun losing its
meaning. Compound nouns contain a single unmodified person, place, thing, or idea; on the other
hand, noun compounds include a modifier (the first noun) and a modified part (the final noun).
A few examples of noun compounds: coffee cup, water bottle, power tools, pig farmer. Noun compounds are
very common in English, and most of them are not proper nouns.
The movie star was infamous for his temper. “movie” modifies star
Phone booths are becoming obsolete. “phone” modifies booths
Diesel engines are very fuel efficient. “diesel” modifies engines
In these examples, the core noun is the simple subject of the sentence. Because these noun compounds are
not proper nouns, the thing being referred to does not require both nouns to be understood: all “movie stars”
are stars, all “phone booths” are booths, and all “diesel engines” are engines. In a common noun compound,
only the final noun will be included in the simple subject.
Question words are who, what, which, where, when, why, and how. Only who, what, and which can be simple
subjects, because these three are the only interrogative pronouns
Who gave you that present? [Mom gave you that present.]
What is your favorite color? [Blue is your favorite color.]
Which belongs to Kim? [The green one belongs to Kim.]
The other question words, however, cannot be pronouns, and so cannot be simple subjects
You can tell if a question word is a pronoun if you can replace it with a noun and form a complete answer
without changing word order.
Complete Subject: must also include the descriptive words (modifiers) or descriptive words. It is the subject
plus all of its modifiers.
The muscular man lifted the heavy table and transferred it to the other room.
The tall and pretty lady fell into the freezing water.
Compound Subject: refers to two or more subjects in a single sentence joined together by a connector
and used with the same verb.
The captain and his ship were lost in the heavy storm.
consisting of the two main nouns, “captain” and “ship,” plus the connector “and.” a compound subject includes
two or more noun phrases linked to the same verb:
Compound subjects contain any linking words (and/or) between them.

COMPLEMENT: is a word or group of words that completes the meaning begun by the subject and
verb. Sometimes a subject and a verb are sufficient to express a complete thought
The mail must be delivered. The machine suddenly stopped.
However sometimes a subject and a verb are not sufficient to express a complete thought the third part
called complement is needed.
A complement completes the meaning begun by the subject and verb.
Can you supply a word to complete each of the following sentences:
Tom was… Bill threw… Marie always seems…

Complements of the verb:

Those complements that are concerned in some way with the action of a verb are called objects and may be
compound: Direct object, Indirect object, and Objective complement.
Direct object is a substantive (a noun or its equivalent) that receives the action of a verb or show the result
of that action. It answers the questions whom or what after the verb.
Ex: Jim hit the ball. (Jim hit what? The answer is ball; therefore ball is the direct object. Ball receives
the action of the verb.) God created heaven and earth. (compound direct object)
Indirect Object is a substantive (a noun or its equivalent) that tells to whom or for whom, or to what or for what
the action of the verb is done. The indirect object when present precedes the direct object.
The Sunday school superintendent gave Emily an award. Award is the direct object. Emily is the indirect
object. The quarterback threw Ray and Jim long passes. (compound indirect object)
Objective Complement: is a noun or an adjective (or the equivalent of either) that is sometimes needed in
addition to the direct object to complete the sense of the verb. If the objective complement is a noun or a noun
equivalent it will explain or rename the direct object. If the objective complement is an adjective, it will modify
the direct object. The objective complement usually follows the direct object.
Ex: We made Scott treasurer (the noun treasurer renames the direct object Scott) without the
complement treasurer the sense of the verb is incomplete. We made Scott
We consider Scott dependable. (The adjective dependable describes the direct object Scott)
You can usually identify an objective complement by inserting “to be” between the direct object and the word
you think is the objective complement.
We made Scott “to be” treasurer
We consider Scott “to be” dependable.
Malaria rendered the soldier weak and helpless.
Objective complements are usually used with verbs such as these: make, consider, name, choose,
elect, appoint, render, leave, think, find.

Complements
Since this page is about the completers of thoughts, it is appropriate to include a brief description of
complements. A complement (notice the spelling of the word) is any word or phrase that completes the
sense of a subject, an object, or a verb. As you will see, the terminology describing predicates and
complements can overlap and be a bit confusing. Students are probably wise to learn one set of terms, not
both.
A subject complement follows a linking verb; it is normally an adjective or a noun that renames or defines
in some way the subject.
A glacier is a huge body of ice.
Glaciers are beautiful and potentially dangerous at the same time.
This glacier is not yet fully formed. (verb form acting as an adjective, a participle)
Adjective complements are also called predicate adjectives; noun complements are also called predicate
nouns or predicate nominatives.
An object complement follows and modifies or refers to a direct object. It can be a noun or adjective or any
word acting as a noun or adjective.
The convention named Dogbreath Vice President to keep him happy. (The noun "Vice President"
complements the direct object "Dogbreath"; the adjective "happy" complements the object "him.")
The clown got the children too excited. (The participle "excited" complements the object "children.")
A verb complement is a direct or indirect object of a verb.
Granny left Raoul all her money. (Both "money" [the direct object (first)] and "Raoul" [the indirect
object(second)] are said to be the verb complements of this sentence.)
Is the complement a part of predicate? For example, in the sentence: "He was the strangest person she had
ever met" - "he" is the subject, "was" is the link word and "the strangest person she had ever met" is the
complement. But at the same time, everything in a sentence apart from the subject, apart from the
complete subject to be exact, is considered a predicate. On the basis of this can we say that complement is
a part of predicate?
Yes, you are right.
In context grammar the difference between predicate and complement is that predicate is (grammar) the part
of the sentence (or clause) which states something about the subject or the object of the sentence, while
complement is (grammar) a word or group of words that completes a grammatical construction in the
predicate and that describes or is identified with the subject or object.
As verbs the difference between predicate and complement is that predicate is to announce or assert
publicly while complement is to complete, to bring to perfection, to make whole.
The totality, the full amount or number which completes something.
The act of completing something, or the fact of being complete; completion, completeness, fulfilment.
There are five kinds of complements. Three of them are used with action verbs only: direct objects,
indirect objects, and object complements. Two others, called subject complements, are predicate
nominatives and predicate adjectives. Subjects complements are used only with linking verbs.

Predicate: The predicate is the word, or words, that express what is asserted about the thing named by
the subject. Predicate: that part which says something about the subject.
As we have already seen, every sentence contains a subject and a predicate.
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. The competition between these two
concepts has generated confusion concerning the use of the term predicate in theories of grammar. This article
considers both of these notions.
The first concerns traditional grammar, which tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of
a sentence, the other part being the subject; the purpose of the predicate is to complete an idea about the
subject, such as what it does or what it is like.
The second notion was derived from work in predicate calculus (predicate logic, first order logic) and is
prominent in modern theories of syntax and grammar. In this approach, the predicate of a sentence mostly
corresponds to the main verb and any auxiliaries that accompany the main verb; whereas
the arguments of that predicate (e.g. the subject and object noun phrases) are outside the predicate.
The predicate in traditional grammar is inspired by propositional logic of antiquity (as opposed to the more
modern predicate logic). A predicate is seen as a property that a subject has or is characterized by. A
predicate is therefore an expression that can be true of something. Thus, the expression "is moving" is true of
anything that is moving. This classical understanding of predicates was adopted more or less directly into Latin
and Greek grammars; and from there, it made its way into English grammars, where it is applied directly to the
analysis of sentence structure. It is also the understanding of predicates in English-language dictionaries. The
predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the
predicate modifies).The predicate must contain a verb, and the verb requires or permits other elements to
complete the predicate, or it precludes them from doing so. These elements are objects (direct, indirect,
prepositional), predicatives, and adjuncts:
She dances. – verb-only predicate
Ben reads the book. – verb-plus-direct-object predicate
Ben's mother, Felicity, gave me a present. – verb-plus-indirect-object-plus-direct-object predicate
She listened to the radio. – verb-plus-prepositional-object predicate
They elected her president. – verb-plus-object-plus-predicative-noun predicate
She met him in the park. – verb-plus-object-plus-adjunct predicate
She is in the park. – verb-plus-predicative-prepositional-phrase predicate
Most modern theories of syntax and grammar take their inspiration for the theory of predicates from predicate
calculus as associated with Gottlob Frege. This understanding sees predicates as relations
or functions over arguments. The predicate serves either to assign a property to a single argument or to
relate two or more arguments to each other. Sentences consist of predicates and their arguments (and
adjuncts) and are thus predicate-argument structures, whereby a given predicate is seen as linking its
arguments into a greater structure. This understanding of predicates sometimes renders a predicate and its
arguments in the following manner:
Bob laughed. → laughed (Bob), or laughed = (Bob)
Sam helped you. → helped (Sam, you)
Jim gave Jill his dog. → gave (Jim, Jill, his dog)
Other function words – e.g. auxiliary verbs, certain prepositions, phrasal particles, etc. – are viewed as part of
the predicate. The matrix predicates are in bold in the following examples:
Bill will have laughed.
Will Bill have laughed?
That is funny.
Has that been funny?
They had been satisfied.
Had they been satisfied, ...
The butter is in the drawer.
Fred took a picture of Sue.
Susan is pulling your leg.
Whom did Jim give his dog to?
You should give it up.

Some theories of grammar seek to avoid the confusion generated by the competition between the two
predicate notions by acknowledging predicators. The term predicate is employed in the traditional sense of
the binary division of the clause, whereas the term predicator is used to denote the more modern
understanding of matrix predicates. On this approach, the periphrastic verb catenae briefly illustrated in the
previous section are predicators. Further illustrations are provided next:

The predicators are in blue. These verb catenae generally contain a main verb and potentially one or
more auxiliary verbs. The auxiliary verbs help express functional meaning of aspect and voice. Since the
auxiliary verbs contribute functional information only, they do not qualify as separate predicators, but rather
each time they form the matrix predicator with the main verb.

Stage-level predicates: TEMPORARY

A stage-level predicate is true of a temporal stage of its subject. For example, if John is "hungry", then he
typically will eat some food. His state of being hungry therefore lasts a certain amount of time, and not his
entire lifespan.

Individual-level predicates: PERMANENT

An individual-level predicate is true throughout the existence of an individual. For example, if John is "smart",
this is a property that he has, regardless of which particular point in time we consider.
There are police available. - available is stage-level predicate
*There are firemen altruistic. - altruistic is an individual-level predicate
Stage-level predicates allow modification by manner adverbs and other adverbial modifiers. Individual-level
predicates do not.
Tyrone spoke French loudly in the corridor. - speak French can be interpreted as a stage-level predicate
*Tyrone knew French silently in the corridor. - know French cannot be interpreted as a stage-level predicate
When an individual-level predicate occurs in past tense, it gives rise to what is called a lifetime effect: The
subject must be assumed to be dead or otherwise out of existence.
John was available. - Stage-level predicate does NOT evoke the lifetime effect.
John was altruistic. - Individual-level predicate does evoke the lifetime effect.

Kind-level predicates
A kind-level predicate is true of a kind of thing, but cannot be applied to individual members of the kind. An
example of this is the predicate are widespread. One cannot meaningfully say of a particular individual John
that he is widespread. One may only say this of kinds, as in
Cats are widespread.

Collective vs. distributive predicates

Predicates may also be collective or distributive.
Collective predicates require their subjects to be somehow plural, while distributive ones do not.
The students formed a line. - Collective predicate appears with plural subject.
*The student formed a line. - Collective predicate cannot appear with singular subject.

Other examples of collective predicates include meet in the woods, surround the house, gather in the
hallway and carry the piano together. Note that the last one (carry the piano together) can be made non-
collective by removing the word together. Quantifiers differ with respect to whether or not they can be the
subject of a collective predicate. For example, quantifiers formed with all the can, while ones formed
with every or each cannot.
All the students formed a line. - Collective predicate possible with all the.
All the students gathered in the hallway. - Collective predicate possible with all the.
All the students carried a piano together. - Collective predicate possible with all the.
*Every student formed a line. - Collective predicate impossible with every.
*Each student gathered in the hallway. - Collective predicate impossible with each.
Predicates
A predicate is the completer of a sentence. The subject names the "do-er" or "be-er" of the sentence; the
predicate does the rest of the work.
A simple predicate consists of only a verb, verb string, or compound verb.
The glacier melted.
The glacier has been melting.
The glacier melted, broke apart, and slipped into the sea. The compound verb consists of two or more
verbs connected by and, or, or nor, or but. These verbs are used with the same subject. A sentence may
contain both a compound subject and a compound verb.
Paul and Barnabas went to the people and preached the gospel.
A compound predicate consists of two (or more) such predicates connected:
The glacier began to slip down the mountainside and eventually crushed some of the village's outlying
buildings.
A complete predicate consists of the verb and all accompanying modifiers and other words that receive the
action of a transitive verb or complete its meaning.
With an intransitive verb, objects and complements are included in the predicate. (The glacier is melting.) With
a transitive verb, objects and object complements are said to be part of the predicate. (The slow moving glacier
wiped out an entire forest. It gave the villagers a lot of problems.) With a linking verb, the subject is connected
to a subject complement. (The mayor doesn't feel good.)
A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and tells us something about the subject or modifies the subject:
The plains are desolate. (Desolate modifies the subject plains.)
Ramonita is beautiful.
His behavior has been outrageous.
That garbage on the street smells bad.
A predicate nominative is a substantive (a noun or its equivalent) that follows a linking verb and renames or
explains the subject:
Mr. Hurley is our coach. (coach is a noun that means the same person as the subject, Mr. Hurley.)

Complete And Incomplete Predication

Simple Predicate is the verb without any modifiers. A simple predicate can be a group of words, called
a verb phrase. It consists of a main verb and one or more helping verbs
1. The boy walks. 2. The rain falls.
In these sentences each of the verbs walks and falls, is of itself the complete predicate of the sentence.
Verbs which may be used as predicates, without the aid of other words, are called verbs of complete
predication.
1. The boy is sick. 3. The dog seems cross.
2. The man looks tired. 4. Hungry wolves are voracious.
Here the verbs is, look, seems, and are, require the use of other words in order to form complete predicates.
Verbs, which thus require the help of other words to form predicates are called verbs of incomplete
predication.
The words sick, tired, cross, and voracious are the complements of the verbs with which they are used.
Words used with a verb of incomplete predication to complete the predicate are called the complement of the
verb.
1. We are happy. 2. Mary became a scholar.
Here, happy, the complement of the verb are, is an adjective modifying we, the subject; and scholar, the
complement of the verb became, is a noun meaning the same as Mary, the subject.
Adjectives like happy, used to complete the predicate, are called predicate adjectives.
Nouns like scholar, used to complete the predicate, are called predicate nouns.
1. The cross dog bit me. 2. The cook cut the bread. 3. The hungry cat caught the mouse.
In these sentences the word me tells whom the dog bit, the word bread tells what the cook cut, and the word
mouse tells what the cat caught. Me, bread, and mouse are the complements of the verbs bit, cut, and
caught, as they denote the things that received the actions expressed by the verbs.
Nouns and pronouns used in this way are called the objects of the verbs.
Thus it appears that there are two kinds of verbs of incomplete predication:
1. Those whose complements are predicate adjectives or predicate nouns.
2. Those whose complements are objects of the verb.
1. The dog was in the house.
2. He seems to be well.
3. I think you told the truth.
In these sentences, the phrases in the house and to be well, and the clause you told the truth, are
complements of the verbs was, seems, and think.
It thus appears that not only adjectives, nouns, and pronouns, but phrases and clauses, may be the
complements of verbs of incomplete predication.

Copula: In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated COP) is a word used to link the subject
of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement), such as the word is in the sentence "The sky is blue."
The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a "link" or "tie" that connects two different things
Mary and John are my friends.
The sky was blue.
I am taller than most people.
The birds and the beasts were there.
The precise definition and scope of the concept of a copula is not necessarily precise in any language. For
example, in English though the concept of the copula is most strongly associated with the verb be, there are
many other verbs that can be used in a copular sense as well. For example
The boy became a man.
The girl got excited by her new toy.
The dog grew tired from the activity.
And even more tenuously
The milk turned sour.
The food smells good.
You seem upset.
She became a student.
They look tired.
The milk tastes bad.
That bread smells good.
I feel bad that she can't come with us.
London 'stands' (is) on the river Thames.
How is Mary? ; She 'seems' (is) well (fine).
1) DIRECT OBJECT:
The first two incomplete sentences above require direct objects:
The selfish child grabbed the toy.
He insulted Sarah.
A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb (verbs that have a direct object are
called transitive verbs). To identify the direct object of a sentence, form a question with the verb and the
words whom or what. For example:
Q. Grabbed what?
A. the toy
Q. insulted whom?
A. Sarah
2) INDIRECT OBJECT:
Sometimes sentences with direct objects also have an indirect object:
The boy gave Sarah the toy.
Sarah gave her doll a hug.
An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that names the person or thing something is done to or for. To identify
the indirect object of a sentence, first be sure there is a direct object, then ask to whom or what? or for
whom or what:
Q. Gave what?
A. toy
Q. To whom?
A. Sarah
Q. Gave what?
A. hug (direct object)
Q. To what?
A. doll (indirect object)
Direct and Indirect Objects
A direct object is the receiver of action within a sentence, as in "He hit the ball." Be careful to distinguish
between a direct object and an object complement:
They named their daughter Natasha.
In that sentence, "daughter" is the direct object and "Natasha" is the object complement, which renames or
describes the direct object.
The indirect object identifies to or for whom or what the action of the verb is performed. The direct object and
indirect object are different people or places or things. The direct objects in the sentences below are in
boldface; the indirect objects are in italics.
The instructor gave his students A's.
Grandfather left Rosalita and Raoul all his money.
Jo-Bob sold me her boat.
Incidentally, the word me (and similar object-form pronouns such as him, us, them) is not always an indirect
object; it will also serve, sometimes, as a direct object.
Bless me/her/us!
Call me/him/them if you have questions.
In English, nouns and their accompanying modifiers (articles and adjectives) do not change form when they
are used as objects or indirect objects, as they do in many other languages. "The radio is on the desk" and "I
borrowed the radio" contain exactly the same word form used for quite different functions. This is not true of
pronouns, however, which use different forms for different functions. (He [subject] loves his grandmother. His
grandmother loves him [object].) (See, also, pronoun cases.)3) Object Complement
An object complement modifies or renames an object:
The class elected Stanley president.
I called Wayne an egghead.
4) PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
A predicate nominative renames the subject of a linking verb. The third sentence at the beginning of the lesson
could be completed with a predicate nominative:
They were experts.
Mr. Wilson is my history professor.
5) PREDICATE ADJECTIVE
A predicate adjective modifies the subject of a linking verb. The sentence above could also be completed with
a predicate adjective.
They were hilarious.
Your outfit looks terrific!
All sentences have subjects and predicates. Many sentences also have complements, and you just learned to
spot all five of them. Piece of cake, right?
Difference between verbal and verb
They hid under the porch. Verb has subject
The boys, hiding under the porch, were discovered. Verbal no subject funtions as an adjective modifying
boys.
FUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR
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