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Sentence Elements: Function and Usage
A sentence is a grammatical unit composed of a subject and a predicate.
Generally, the subject identifies who or what the sentence is about. The predicate
consists of the verb and any complements. A verb expresses either an action or a state
of being. A complement is necessary to complete the overall meaning of a sentence
(provided the subject and verb alone do not accomplish this). In grammar, a
complement is a completer. The subject, verb and complement are essential elements
of a sentence. In most cases, any word, phrase or clause not functioning as subject, verb
or complement is most likely a modifier. Modifiers are significant elements, but they
are not essential. Modifiers can be divided into two categories: adjectives and adverbs.
To determine the function of these various sentence elements, begin by
identifying the verb. Since the majority of verbs show action, look for the primary
action in the sentence. Once you discover the word that expresses this action, determine
who or what is performing that action. In doing so, you have identified the subject and
the verb. Next, determine if the subject and verb, when used together express a
completed thought or action. For example, in the sentence “John sings for pleasure,” the
thought that ‘John sings’ is a complete idea. In such a case, no complement is
necessary. We call an action verb that by itself completes a subject an intransitive verb.
Intransitive verbs require no complement, though they are regularly followed by
adverbs. In the previous example, ‘for pleasure’ is an adverb phrase that tells us why
John sings. Again, most nonessential sentence parts are modifiers (adjectives or
adverbs).
If the subject and action verb do not complete the thought, then a complement is
necessary. We call this type of complement a direct object. Consider the following
sentence: “John drives a truck.” The idea that ‘John drives’ does not represent the
complete, or desired, meaning of this sentence. This sentence clearly tells us that John
does more than just drive; he drives a truck. The truck is what he drives- the specific
object of his action. As a result, the truck becomes the direct object of the action verb.
We call an action verb that requires an object to complete the desired meaning of the
sentence a transitive verb. A transitive verb must have a direct object. The direct
object will answer ‘who’ or ‘what’ is the object of the verb’s action. Sentences with
transitive verbs and direct objects may also have indirect objects and objective
complements. See the “Sentence Elements” section of your grammar packet for
definitions and applications of these. These types of complements complete the verb.
If you fail to discover any type of action in the sentence, then look for a word that
expresses a state of being. (These are words like am, is are, was, were, feel, seem, etc . . .)
Often, these words are used to connect the subject to a word in the predicate. When this
occurs, the verb is called a linking verb. When the main verb is a linking verb, the
complement completes the subject, not the verb. We call this type of complement a
subjective complement. One type of subjective complement is a predicate nominative.
A predicate nominative is a noun in the predicate that follows a linking verb and
renames the subject. For example, in the sentence, “John is a good singer,” ‘singer’
follows the linking verb ‘is’ and renames ‘John.’ Therefore, ‘singer’ is a predicate
nominative. An adjective in the predicate that follows a linking verb and describes the
subject is called a predicate adjective. In the sentence, “John is happy,” ‘happy’ follows
the linking verb ‘is’ and describes ‘John.’ Therefore, ‘happy’ is a predicate adjective.
Although ‘good’ follows a linking verb and is in the predicate in the earlier sentence
“John is a good singer,” it is not a predicate adjective because it describes “singer,” the
predicate nominative, and not the subject, ‘John.’ Another type of complement that can
follow a linking verb is an adverbial complement. An adverbial complement is an
essential element, such as in the sentence, “John is here.” “John is” without the adverb
‘here’ indicates that John exists. “John is here” means that John is in this place ‘here.’ If
the adverb is essential to complete the thought, we call it an adverbial complement. If
an adverb is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, it is simply a modifier.
Now that you have a basic understanding of how both essential and nonessential
part of the sentence function, use the following rules to determine, diagram the various
sentence parts of the sentences to follow.
1. The small cat drank her milk.
2. The large, scary dog bit the mailman.
3. My favorite car is a corvette.
4. The Homecoming Dance was fun.
5. The assistant principal suspended the angry student.
6. The next assignment is a persuasive essay.
7. The last assignment was not very difficult
8. The normal deadline is Sunday.
9. I have graded your paragraphs already.
10. These sentences only seem elementary.