The oblique object is a complement of a preposition The oblique object (NP) is

directly dominated by PP:

Here, class is the oblique object of to. The oblique object is a complement of the

preposition and hence it functions as an argumentsof the verb.

 Note that there are two complements in the following verb phrase configuration:

    1.    walk to class.

the NP class is a complement (an oblique object) of the preposition to, and the PP to
class is a complement of the verb walk:

Oblique Complements

Consider now the italicized expressions in (31):

(31) a. John put books in the box.

b. John talked to Bill about the exam.

c. She reminded him of the last time they met.

d. They would inform Mary of any success they have made.

These italicized expressions are neither objects nor predicative complements. Since their presence is obligatory, for

syntactic well-formedness, they are called oblique complements. Roughly speaking, ‘oblique’ contrasts with the

‘direct’ functions of subject and object, and oblique phrases are typically expressed as PPs in English.

As we have seen before, most ditransitive verbs can also take oblique complements:

(32) a. John gave a book to the student.

b. John bought a book for the student.

The PPs here, which cannot be objects since they are not NPs, also do not serve as predicate of the subject or object

– they relate directly to the verb, as oblique complements.

Test for identifying oblique complements in English

 An oblique complement (Obl.Compl) is a PP or an AdvP which behaves like a

complement, i.e. it is semantically implied syntactically necessary
 cannot be used with a pro-VP form such as do so:
John put a book on the shelf and Mary did so (*into the drawer), too.

 it does not fit the definition of any of the other grammatical functions.
 typical examples in which the verb restricts the choice of a PP
wait for + N(P)--> wait for you
substitute with + N(P)--> substitute plastic with paper
rely on + N(P)--> rely on her punctuality
talk to + N(P) --> talk to the students

 the verb requires a directional phrase, independent of how this is lexicalized:

put [sth.]DObj [somewhere]Obl.compl
Categories and structural position

 Oblique complements are always PPs.

 It is a sister of V and NP and dominated by a VP.
Example:

_S_
/ \
/ AuxP
/ / \
subj / VP
/ / / \
/ / / obl.compl
/ / / |
NP Aux V _PP__
/__\ | | /_____\
Pat will wait for Kim.
An oblique object is a grammatical relation proposed for a noun phrase clause constituent with the
following characteristics:

 Its nature and behavior are more readily describable in semantic terms than syntactic.
 It is likely to be the most constrained in the semantic roles it may individually express.
 It is likely to be marked by an adposition or case affix.
 It is not likely to be a target of syntactic rules, such as
o agreement with the verb, or
o strategies of relativization.

Examples: 
English prepositional phrases, as clause constituents, can be considered oblique objects.

 She was bitten by a spider.

Test for identifying oblique complements in English

 An oblique complement is a PP or an AdvP which behaves like a complement, i.e. it is
o semantically implied
o syntactically necessary
o cannot be used with a pro-VP form such as do so:
''John put a book on the shelf and Mary did so (*into the drawer), too.
 but: it does not fit the definition of any of the other grammatical functions.
 typical examples:
o a particular preposition is required by the verb: wait for, substitute with, rely
on, talk to ... about ..., ...
o the verb requires a directional phrase, independent of how this is lexicalized: put
s.th. [somewhere]obl.compl
Categories and structural position
 Oblique complements are always PPs.
 It is a sister of V and NP and dominated by a VP.
Example:

_S_
/ \
/ AuxP
/ / \
subj / VP
/ / / \
/ / / obl.comp
/ / / |
NP Aux V _PP__
/__\ | | /_____\
Pat will wait for Kim.