Complements

There are four major kinds of complements. Direct objects and indirect objects follow
action verbs. Predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives follow linking verbs. Together, a
subject, a verb, and a complement are called the sentence base.

Direct Objects
Direct objects complete the meaning of action verbs.

1a A direct object is a noun or a pronoun that receives the action of the verb.

To find a direct object, first find the subject and the action verb. Then ask the question What? or
Whom? The answer to either of these questions will be a direct object.

d.o.
I will take Mathan to school today. [I will take whom? Mathan is the direct
object.]
d.o d.o.
I ordered a book but I received a calendar instead. [I ordered what? Book
is the direct object of ordered. I received what? Calendar is the direct object
of received.]
d.o. d.o.
Robert painted the table and chairs. [Robert painted what? Table and
chairs are both direct objects.]

Note: Two or more direct objects following the same verb are called compound
direct object.

A complement is never part of a prepositional phrase.

d.o.
Do you want any {of these old hats}? [You do want what? Any is the direct object. Hats
cannot be the direct object, since it is part of the prepositional phrase of these old hats.]
Complements

Exercise 1 Finding Direct Objects

Number your paper 1 to 10. Then write each direct object.

Grandma
1. For many years Grandma Moses embroidered scenes on canvas.
Moses 2. Due to arthritis she could no longer hold the needle.
3. She replaced needle and thread with paint and brushes.
4. At the age of 76, she painted her first picture.
5. Grandma Moses never had a single art lesson.
 6. With her brush she created realistic drawings from memory.
7. These simple country scenes captured the experiences of her youth.
8. In 1938, an art dealer discovered her paintings.
9. The Museum of Modern Art included her work in a show the following year.
10. Today many art museums display the art of this American primitive painter.

Exercise 2 Finding Direct Objects

Number your paper 1 to 10. Then write each direct objects.

1. Sea otters love all kinds of shellfish.

Clever
Creatures 2. Lying on their backs, they hold the unopened shells on their chests and smash them with a rock.
3. Termites don’t like the sun.
4. They often make paper umbrellas and shade their heads outside of the mound.
5. Chimpanzees chew the ends of sticks and make brushes out of them.
6. With the brushes they dig termites and other insects out of the ground.
7. An elephants holds a stick in its trunk and scratches its back.
8. The Egyptian vulture takes a rock in its beak and opens an ostrich egg with it.
9. Bowerbirds often build fancy nests for themselves.
10. They will use shells, leaves, and even clothespins.

Exercise 3 Writing Sentences

Write a sentence that answers each of the following questions. Then underline each direct
object.?

1. What do you see to your right?

___________________________________________________________
2. What colors do you like best?
___________________________________________________________
 3. How many books and pens do you have with you?
___________________________________________________________
4. Whom did you meet recently?
___________________________________________________________
5. What kind of footwear are you wearing now?
___________________________________________________________
6. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
___________________________________________________________
7. How many brothers and sisters do you have?
___________________________________________________________
8. What courses are you taking this year?
___________________________________________________________
9. What are you holding in your hand right now?
___________________________________________________________
10. How many pairs of jeans do you own?
___________________________________________________________

Indirect Objects
An indirect object can be included in a sentence that already has a direct object in it.

1b An indirect object answers the questions To or for whom? Or To or for what?

after an action verb.

To find the indirect object, first find the direct object. Then ask, To or for whom or To or for what?
about each direct object. The answer to either of these questions will be an indirect object. Notice
plements in the following example that an indirect object comes before a direct object.
i.o. d.o.
Jennifer built Mom a birdhouse. [Birdhouse is the direct object. Jennifer built a birdhouse
for whom? Mom is the indirect object..]
i.o. d.o.
Mathan gave his car a name. [Name is the direct object. Mathan gave a name
to what? Car is the indirect object.]

i.o. i.o. d.o.

Mrs. Sanders assigned Robert and Mathan a special project. (Project is the direct object.
Mrs. Sanders assigned a project to whom? Robert and Mathan are compound indirect object.]

Like a direct object, an indirect object cannot be part of a prepositional phrase.

Read Dad the article in the newspaper. [Dad is an indirect object. It comes before the
direct object article and is not part of a prepositional phrase.]

Read the article in the newspaper to Dad. [Dad is not the indirect object because it follows
the direct object and is part of the prepositional phrase to Dad.]
Exercise 4 Finding Indirect Objects and Direct Objects
Number your paper 1 to 20. Write each indirect object and direct object. Then label
i.o. d.o.
each one indirect object or direct object.

1. Mr. Linzy assigned Mary a report on the many hazards of smoking.

2. Mother promised us chicken for dinner.
3. Joseph sold four quarts of paint to Mr. Smith.
4. Don’t give Muffin or Tiger a snack now.
5. The faculty awarded a special prize to Camile.
6. Make me an offer for my old bicycle.
7. My cousin lent Patty and me their tennis rackets.
8. Draw the directions for me on this paper.
9. Did Ben give you his class dues?
10. Mr. Krueger sold Kim and Uno his slide projector.
11. Some people have an extra rib.
12. The Harrisons bought Brenda a sterling – silver bracelet for her graduation.
13. Tell Bryan and him the joke about the elephants.
14. City Bank gives free investment advice to all its customers.
15. The Manx cat, originally from Isle of Man, has no external tail.
16. A small cave gave the hikers shelter from the storm.
17. My grandparents sent some oranges to us from Florida.
18. Please do me a big favor.
19. Mrs. Megan is teaching Lara and me Spanish.
20. A python needs a good meal only about once a year.

Predicate Nominative
The two types of complements that follow linking verbs are called subject
complements. One of these subject complements is the predicate nominative.

1c
A predicate nominative is a noun or a pronoun that follows a linking
verb and identifies, renames, or explains the subject.

To find a predicate nominative, first find the subject and the linking verb. Then find the
noun or the pronoun that follows the verb and identifies, renames, or explains the subject.
This word will be a predicate nominative.

p.n.
Hazel will be our new treasurer. [treasurer = Hazel]
p.n p.n.
The nominees for class president were Brent and she.
[Brent and she = nominees. Brent and she are the compound predicate nominative.]

A predicate nominative, like other complements, cannot be part of a prepositional phrase.

p.n.
 Yvonne is one of my best friends. [One = Yvonne. Friends is part of the prepositional
phrase of my best friends.]

Exercise 5 Finding Predicate Nominatives

Number your paper 1 to 10. Then write the predicate nominative in the following
sentences.

1. The solution to the problem remains a mystery to me.

2. Andres Johnson became the president after Lincoln.
3. The sun is one of the smallest stars in our galaxy.
4. The speaker will be Dr. Rika and Ms. Hensen.
5. Letters were their only means of communication.
6. Surprisingly, elephants are excellent swimmers.
7. Allen Konigsberg is the real name of Woods Allen.
8. Lady Jane Grey was Queen of England for only nine days.
9. With luck, the winners of the debate will be Ann and Ruby.
10. The earth’s crust is a layer of rock about 40miles thick.

A predicate adjective is also a subject complement.

1d A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and

modifies the subject.

To find a predicate adjective, first find the subject and the linking
verb.
Then find the adjective that follows the verb and describe the subject. This
word will be a predicate adjective.

p.a.
The highway was very icy. [Icy describes the highway.]

The peaches were soft and bruised. [Soft and bruised describe the peaches. Soft
and bruised are the compound predicate adjective.]

Do not confuse a regular adjective with a predicate adjective. A predicate adjective

follows the linking verb and describes the subject.
 Regular Adjective Mathan is such a cheerful person.

Predicate Adjective: Mathan is always cheerful.

Exercise 6 Finding Predicate Adjectives

Number your paper 1 to 10. Then write the predicate adjectives in the following
sentences. If a sentence does not have a predicate adjective, write none after the
number.

1. Most domestic cat’s eyes are green.

2. Limes should be tart and tangy.
3. The fresh vegetables were a delicious appetizer.
4. Dame Margot Fonteyn became famous in the ballet.
5. The steak was unusually tough and tasteless.
6. No two fingerprints are exactly alike.
7. Jupiter looked brilliant last night.
8. The hyena is a cowardly but efficient scavenger.
9. For some people a bee sting can be fatal.
10. Are cactus blossoms delicate and colorful?

Exercise 7 Finding Subject Complements

Number your paper 1 to 20. Write each subject complement. Then label it
p.n. p.a.
predicate nominative or predicate adjective.

1. A pirouette is a rapid turn on the toe or ball of the foot.

2. The famous Hawaiian pineapple was originally a native of South America.
3. The Sout Pole is colder than the North Pole.
4. After hanging outside on the clothesline, these sheets smell fresh, and clean.
5. E.E. Cummings’ poetry is unconventional.
6. The rainiest spot on earth is Mount Waialeale in Hawaii.
7. The ones with the best chance of winning are he and Donna.
8. Nails were extremely scarce in Colonial days.
9. A major in engineering remains a good choice for future employment.
10. From the airplane the cars and trucks looked tiny.
11. Ben Kevin have been good friends since third grade.
12. The life expectancy of a one – dollar bill is approximately 18 months.
13. After a winter in the mountains, the trapper looked pale and haggard.
14. Swans are exceptionally fast fliers and swimmers.
15. Whales are huge, powerful, and warm – blooded.
16. The “horns” of a rhinoceros are really hard projections of closely impacted hair.
17. Martin is president of his class and capain of the soccer team.
18. Tahiti is fragrant with tropical flowers.
19. Texas was once an independent republic.
20. That old canoe doesn’t look seaworthy.

Exercise 8 Writing Sentences

Complete each of the following groups of words by adding a subject complement. Then
underline each one and label it predicate nominative or predicate adjective.

Example Albert Einstein was

Possible Answer Albert Einstein was one of the world’s greatest
scientists. – predicate nominative

1. The old piano sounds

Ex. The old piano sounds tinny. (predicate adjective)
2. Barack Obama was
Barack Obama was the first black American president of the United States
(predicate nominative)
3. That automobile looks
The automobile looks expensive. (predicate adjective)
4. Mathan’s dog is
Mathan’s dog is a collie. (predicate nominative)
5. Elvis Presley was
Elvis Presley was a famous singer. (predicate nominative.)
6. Our country is
Our country is the best place to live in the world. (predicate nominative)
7. Wilma seems
Wilma seems unusually talkative today. (predicate adjective)
8. Life today is
Life today is better than fifty years ago. (predicate adjective)
9. The milk became
 The milk became sour before the date on the carton. (predicate adjective)
10. Football is
Football is an action – packed sport. (predicate nominative)

Exercise 9 Time – out for Review

Number your paper 1 to 20. Write each complement. Then label each one
d.o i.o. p.n. p.a.
direct object, indirect object, predicate nominative, or predicate adjective.

1. Thomas Edison was not popular at his school in Port Huron, Michigan, in 1854. He
was sick much of the time.
2. Sometimes his fellow students called him names.
3. After a time, his mother ended his formal education.
4. From then she taught him lessons at home.
5. At age ten Tom read a science book completely.
6. Immediately afterward he built himself a chemical laboratory in the basement of his
home.
7. At 12 Edison started his own business.
8. On a train that ran between Port Huron and Detroit, he sold passengers newspapers.
9. The work was hard and tiring.
10. Surprisingly, Tom still found time for other ventures. He published his own one – page
newspaper and sold it for three cents a copy.
11. He learned Morse code and took a job in a telegraph office.
12. The pay was 25 dollars a month.
13. Often he was idle and bored at work.
14. At these times he did chemical experiments.
15. One day an experiment exploded and destroyed the office.
16. Tom became an inventor at the age of sixteen.
17. His best – known inventions are the electric lights and the phonograph.
18. Later in life, Thomas Edison became a millionaire.