Download Complements: Subject Complements

Name
Lesson
8
Date
Complements: Subject Complements
Teaching
A subject complement is a word or group of words that follows a linking verb and
renames or describes the subject. Common linking verbs include forms of be,
such as am, is, are, was, being, been, and were; and verbs such as appear, feel,
look, sound, seem, and taste.
Both nouns and adjectives can serve as subject complements.
A predicate noun follows a linking verb and defines or renames the subject.
The painting is a still life.
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
NOUN
A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and describes a quality of the subject.
This painting of a forest is unusually beautiful.
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
ADJECTIVE
Identifying Linking Verbs and Subject Complements
In the following sentences, underline the linking verbs once and the subject
complements twice. On the line, write PA for predicate adjective or PN for
predicate noun.
1. Painting is one of the oldest arts.
______________
2. People are a favorite subject of painters.
______________
3. The subjects in early paintings were usually very important people.
______________
4. Many old paintings were religious.
______________
5. Other subjects were historical or mythical figures.
______________
6. Later, common people became the subjects of paintings.
______________
7. Sometimes, the people in paintings look very realistic.
______________
8. Other paintings are imaginative.
______________
9. The people and scenery seem dreamlike.
______________
10. Another popular subject is nature.
______________
11. Landscapes and seascapes are paintings of our natural world.
______________
12. Still lifes are pictures of objects.
______________
13. These subjects look quite detailed.
______________
14. Some paintings become huge, covering whole walls.
______________
15. Other paintings are tiny.
______________
22 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK
Copyright © McDougal Littell Inc.
CHAPTER 1
A complement is a word or group of words that completes the meaning of the verb.
Name
Lesson
8
Date
Complements: Subject Complements
More Practice
A. Identifying Types of Subject Complements
EXAMPLE The lives of many artists were interesting.
PA
1. Michelangelo was an artistic genius.
__________
2. His styles of art were quite different.
__________
3. Michelangelo became a sculptor.
__________
4. His large, marble statues appear lifelike.
__________
5. Many of his statues feel incredibly smooth.
__________
6. Michelangelo became famous for his paintings.
__________
7. His paintings in the Sistine Chapel look magnificent.
__________
8. His career as an architect was challenging.
__________
9. The dome of St. Peter’s Church was his plan.
__________
__________
10. In his later years, Michelangelo became a poet.
B. Using Subject Complements
Complete each sentence below. First complete it with a predicate noun. Then
complete it with a predicate adjective.
my uncle.
The artist is talented.
Copyright © McDougal Littell Inc.
EXAMPLE The artist is
1. The painting is _______________________.
The painting is _______________________.
2. The colors are _______________________.
The colors are _______________________.
3. The dog in the painting is _______________________.
The dog in the painting is _______________________.
4. The painting’s setting is _______________________.
The painting’s setting is _______________________.
GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK 23
CHAPTER 1
In each of the following sentences, underline the linking verb once and the subject
complement twice. Then, on the line, write PN if the subject complement is a
predicate noun or PA if it is a predicate adjective.
Name
Lesson
8
Complements: Subject Complements
Date
Application
A. Writing Subject Complements
(1) My favorite form of art is sculpture. (2) The work of art that I wish I
owned is a statue of a young dancer. (3) It looks beautiful. (4) When I look at
that artwork, I feel happy. (5) It is truly a masterpiece. (6) The life of an artist
must be very satisfying.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
B. Writing with Subject Complements
Imagine that you have just visited a museum where you saw some unusual works of
art. Write six sentences about your museum visit and what you saw there. Three of
the sentences should have predicate adjectives. Three should have predicate nouns.
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
24 GRAMMAR, USAGE, AND MECHANICS BOOK
Copyright © McDougal Littell Inc.
CHAPTER 1
Rewrite each of the numbered sentences in the passage below with a new subject
complement. Underline your new subject complement. If it is a predicate noun,
write PN in parentheses after the sentence. If it is a predicate adjective, write PA.