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Complements
There are two kinds of complements: verb complements, and subject complement. A
complement may be a noun, a pronoun, an adjective and a noun clause.
➢ Verb complements (Direct object, Indirect object and object complement)
➢ Subject complement (Predicate nominatives and Predicate adjective)
Direct objects
✓ Luisa played the guitar. (played what? Played guitar. Guitar is the direct object.)
✓ Estela sold her typewriter. (Estela sold what?)
✓ They understood what I had said. (They understood what?)
Note: A direct object may come before the subject and the verb.
- What a beautiful song she played!
- What a wonderful job you did!
Compound Direct Objects
- She bought a sofa and a chair.
- Did you feed the dog and the cat this morning?
Indirect Object
- Please bring me a glass of water. (Bring a glass of water to whom? To me. Me is the
indirect object.)
- He gave me the book. (the direct object of gave is book. Me is the indirect object.)
He gave the book to me. (DO)
- The professor asked her a question. (IO)
The professor asked a question of her. (prepositional phrase)
Shelter workers bought the animals more food.
Compound indirect object
- Give Mr.Lassiter and Ms.French copies of the test form.
- The rancher brought the cows and horses some hay.
Object complements
An object-complement says something about the direct object of a sentence.
An object-complement may be a noun, a pronoun, noun clause or an adjective. It usually
follows a direct object.
Note: A verb that has a direct object and an object-complement is called a complex transitive
verb.
- They elected Stella a chairman. (DO)
Compound objective complement
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- They’ve painted the walls green and ceiling blue.

- Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Subject complements
A subject complement is a word or word group that identifies or describes the subject.
A linking verb connects a subject complement to the subject.
- Garrett is my best friend.
There are two kinds of subject complements: predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives.
Predicate nominatives
(Predicate nominatives = predicate noun + predicate pronoun)
Predicate Pronouns
A predicate pronoun follows a linking verb and identifies subject. Use the subject case for
predicate pronouns.
- Jackson became a superstar. (superstar renames Jackson)
- The better player is Tim. (Tim identifies player)
- The woman who phoned you is she.
- The owner was he.
- The buyers are you and she.
Note: Use the subject case for predicate pronoun.
A linking verb can have more than one predicate nominative.
Compound Predicate nominatives
- Over the years, has Uncle Danny been a cyclist, a runner, and a golfer?
- My favorite roses are the American Beauty and the Tropicana.
Predicate Adjective
A predicate adjective is an adjective that follows a linking verb and describes the subject of
the sentence.
- The pizza smelled delicious. (Delicious describes pizza)
- Harry is always late. (Late describes Harry)
Compound Predicate Adjectives
- How tired and sleepy I am!
- Are these drums too loud or too quiet?
- The scientist is talented, creative, and young.