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Grammar
Complements, Phrases, & Clauses
SED 340
Complements
• A complement is a word or group of words that
completes the meaning begun by the subject
and verb.
• Four kinds: direct objects, indirect objects,
predicate nominatives, and predicate adjectives
• Two are affected by the action of the verb
• Predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives
are both called subject complements.
Direct Objects
• The direct object receives the action expressed
by the verb or names the result of the action.
• Examples:
1. She drank the soda.
2. I signed the check.
Indirect Objects
• Indirect objects precede the direct object and
tell to whom or what or for whom or what the
action of the verb is done.
• Examples:
1. My mom gave me a present.
2. Bob sent us the memo on Thursday.
Subject Complements
• A subject complement is a word which follows a
linking verb and refers to (explains or describes)
the subject.
• Two kinds: predicate nominatives and predicate
adjectives
Predicate Nominatives
• Predicate nominatives are nouns or pronouns.
• Examples:
1. She is a secretary.
2. It was him.
Predicate Adjectives
• Predicate adjectives are adjectives which
modify the subject.
• Examples:
1. She is pretty.
2. My dog is lazy.
Complements
Complements
Direct
Objects
Indirect
Objects
Subject
Complements
Predicate
Nominatives
Predicate
Adjectives
Phrases
• A phrase is a group of related words that is used
as a single part of speech and does not contain a
verb and its subject.
• Five kinds: prepositional, adjective, adverb,
verbal, and appositive
Prepositional Phrases
• A prepositional phrase is a group of words that
begin with a preposition and usually ends with a
noun or pronoun.
• Examples:
1. Please put the paper in the basket.
2. I found ten apples under the tree.
Adjective Phrases
• An adjective phrase is a prepositional phrase
that modifies a noun or a pronoun.
• Examples:
1. That girl in the car is my sister.
2. The disk on the table is his.
Adverb Phrases
• An adverb phrase is a prepositional phrase that
modifies a verb, an adjective, or an adverb.
• Examples:
1. The pine tree was planted in the back yard.
2. I ran from the dog.
Verbals and Verbal Phrases
• A verbal is a word that is formed from a verb
but it is used in a sentence as a noun, an
adjective, or an adverb.
• A verbal phrase is a group of related words that
contains a verbal.
• Three kinds: participles, gerunds and infinitives
Participles and Participial Phrases
• A participle is a verb form that can be used as an
adjective.
• A participial phrase is a group of related words that
contains a participle and that acts as an adjective.
• Examples:
1. Running through the forest, the girl enjoyed the
crisp air.
2. Swimming to the surface, the fish swallowed the
worm.
Gerunds and Gerund Phrases
• A gerund is a verb form ending in –ing that is
used as a noun.
• A gerund phrase is a group of related words that
includes the gerund.
• Examples:
1. Swimming is my favorite thing to do in the
summer.
2. Washing the dishes is my daily chore.
Infinitives and Infinitive Phrases
• An infinitive is a verb form that can be used as a noun,
an adjective, or an adverb.
• An infinitive has the word to directly before the base
form of the verb.
• An infinitive phrase is a group of related words that
includes the infinitive.
• Examples:
1. I would like to go to Europe.
2. He needs to read the whole book by tomorrow.
Appositives and Appositive Phrases
• An appositive is a noun or pronoun that explains the
noun or pronoun it follows.
• An appositive phrase is made up of an appositive and
its modifiers.
• Most of the time set apart from the rest of the
sentence with commas, but if the appositive is
necessary to the meaning of the sentence or is closely
related to the word it follows, no commas are
necessary
• Examples:
1. Susan, the girl in the front row, is reading a book.
2. The movie Lord of the Rings is his favorite.
Phrases
Phrases
Appositive
Prepositional
Adjective
Adverb
Verbal
Infinitive
Gerund
Participial
Clauses
• A clause is a group of words containing a
subject and a verb which forms part of a
sentence.
• Independent or dependent (subordinate)
• Three kinds: adjective, adverb, and noun
Independent and Dependent Clauses
• An independent clause expresses a complete
thought and can stand by itself as a sentence.
• A dependent clause or subordinate clause does
not express a complete thought and cannot
stand alone.
Adjective Clauses
• An adjective clause is a subordinate clause used as an
adjective to modify a noun or a pronoun.
• An adjective clause almost always begins with a relative
pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, what, and that)
• Examples:
1. The girl who is sitting in the front row is my best
friend.
2. The car that is bright red is speeding.
Adverb Clauses
• An adverb clause is a subordinate clause used as
an adverb.
• Examples:
1. When I smiled at him he waved.
2. Because she wakes up early, she is always on
time.
Noun Clauses
• A noun clause is a subordinate clause used as a
noun.
• Can be used as a subject, a complement, or an
object of the preposition
• Examples:
1. They asked who won.
2. My friend asked whoever was able to please
stand.
Clauses
Clauses
Independent
Dependent
Adjective
Noun
Adverb
Questions???
Grammar Web Sites
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http://englishplus.com/grammar/
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/
http://a4esl.org/q/j/
http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar
Grammar Books
• Prentice Hall Reference Guide to Grammar
Usage (5th Ed.) By: Muriel Harris
• The Writer’s Pocket Handbook By: Alfred Rosa
and Paul Eschholz
• Guide to Rapid Revision (8th Ed.) By: Daniel
Pearlman and Paula Pearlman
• English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior
(2nd Ed.) By: Anita K. Barry
More Grammar Books
• Painless Grammar By: Rebecca Elliott, Ph.D.
• Nitty-Gritty Grammar & More Nitty-Gritty
Grammar By: Edith H. Fine & Judith P.
Josephson
• Essentials of English Grammar (2nd Ed.) By: L.
Sue Baugh