complements

plural of complement

present third singular of complement

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◊ GRAMMAR

A complement is an adjective or noun group which comes after a link verb such as `be', and gives more information about the subject of the clause.

The children seemed frightened.

He is a geologist.

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There are also complements which describe the object of a clause: see the section below on object complements.

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◊ adjectives as complements

Adjectives can be used as complements after the following link verbs:

appear, be, become, come, feel, get, go, grow, keep, look, pass, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn

We were very happy.

The other child looked neglected.

Their hall was larger than his whole flat.

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◊ WARNING

You do not use an adverb after a link verb. For example, you say `We felt very happy', not `We felt very happily'.

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`Come', `go', and `turn' are used with a restricted range of adjectives. For more information on this, and on the use of `get' and `grow', see entry at ↑ become.

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◊ noun groups as complements

Noun groups can be used as complements after the following link verbs:

be, become, comprise, constitute, feel, form, look, make, prove, remain, represent, seem, sound

He always seemed a controlled sort of man.

He'll make a good president.

I feel a bit of a fraud.

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Note that when you are saying what someone's job is, you use `a' or `an'. You do not just use the noun. For example, you say `She's a journalist'. You do not say `She's journalist'.

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◊ pronouns as complements

Pronouns are sometimes used as complements to indicate identity or to describe something.

It's me again.

This one is yours.

You're someone who does what she wants.

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◊ 'to'-infinitive clauses

For information on the use of `to'-infinitives after complements, as in `It's an easy mistake to make', see entry at ↑ 'To'-infinitive clauses.

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◊ other verbs with complements

A small number of verbs which refer to actions can be followed by complements. For example, instead of saying `He returned. He had not been harmed', you can say `He returned unharmed'.

George stood motionless for at least a minute.

I used to lie awake watching the rain seep through the roof.

He died young.

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The following verbs can be used with a complement like this:

be born, die, emerge, escape, hang, lie, return, sit, stand, survive

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◊ object complements

Some transitive verbs have a complement after their object when they are used with a particular meaning. This complement describes the object, and is often called the object complement.

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The following transitive verbs are used with an adjective as object complement:

believe, call, certify, consider, declare, eat, find, hold, judge, keep, label, leave, like, make, prefer, presume, pronounce, prove, reckon, render, serve, term, think, want

Willie's jokes made her uneasy.

He had proved them all wrong.

Do you want it white or black?

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Some verbs are used with a very restricted range of object complements:

to drive someone crazy/mad, to burn someone alive, to get someone drunk/pregnant, to knock someone unconscious, to paint something red, blue, etc, to pat something dry, to pick something clean, to plane something flat/smooth, to rub something dry/smooth, to send someone mad, to shoot someone dead, to sweep something clean, to turn something white, black, etc, to wipe something clean/dry

She painted her eyelids deep blue.

He wiped the bottle dry with a dishcloth.

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The following transitive verbs are used with a noun group as object complement:

appoint, believe, brand, call, consider, crown, declare, designate, elect, find, hold, judge, label, make, presume, proclaim, prove, reckon, term, think

They consider him an embarrassment.

In 1910 Asquith made him a junior minister.

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The following transitive verbs are used with a name as object complement:

call, christen, dub, name, nickname

Everyone called her Molly.

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