Finding the complement
To identify the complement do the following:
There are two types of complements: direct objects and subjective complements.
Direct Objects
In a sentence such as "Terry hit the jackpot," the verb hit carries the action across from the subject Terry, to its complement, jackpot.
Because it receives the action, a word used as this kind of complement is a direct object.
As used here, hit is called a transitive verb, from the Latin root trans- meaning across to an object.
A transitive verb carries the action from the subject across to an object.
You find the same sense of across in other words, such as transport, transfer and transatlantic.
But not all verge race direct objects. Those that don't are intransitive verbs. The in- means they don't carry action to a complement.
The pattern for a sentence with an intransitive verb is:
Actor + Action (Subject + Verb)
Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending on their used in a sentence. Consider the following:
• Charlie burned the bacon. (transitive)
The bonfire burned. (intransitive)
• The soloist played the flute. (transitive)
Chipmunks play. (intransitive)
• The puppy burst the balloon. (transitive)
The bubble burst. (intransitive)
More on complements next week.
To identify the complement do the following:
- Find the subject (S).
- Find the verb (V), including its helpers.
- Name the subject and verb, then ask who or what. The answer will be the complement (C) if the sentence has one.
There are two types of complements: direct objects and subjective complements.
Direct Objects
In a sentence such as "Terry hit the jackpot," the verb hit carries the action across from the subject Terry, to its complement, jackpot.
Because it receives the action, a word used as this kind of complement is a direct object.
As used here, hit is called a transitive verb, from the Latin root trans- meaning across to an object.
A transitive verb carries the action from the subject across to an object.
You find the same sense of across in other words, such as transport, transfer and transatlantic.
But not all verge race direct objects. Those that don't are intransitive verbs. The in- means they don't carry action to a complement.
The pattern for a sentence with an intransitive verb is:
Actor + Action (Subject + Verb)
Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive depending on their used in a sentence. Consider the following:
• Charlie burned the bacon. (transitive)
The bonfire burned. (intransitive)
• The soloist played the flute. (transitive)
Chipmunks play. (intransitive)
• The puppy burst the balloon. (transitive)
The bubble burst. (intransitive)
More on complements next week.