View source for Complement - compliment

'''Complement''' and '''compliment''' {{Bridges}} Both are pronounced {{IPA|ˈkɒm plə (''or'' ɪ) mənt}}

* A '''compliment''', or a '''compliment'''ary remark, is something you say to someone ('pay someone a '''compliment'''') when you want to praise or congratulate them or to express admiration: 'What a nice dress!', 'That's very clever', 'You played very well', etc.  
:Sometimes '''complimentary''' means 'free': e.g. '''complimentary''' tickets.  These are things given because of the high esteem in which the giver holds the recipient.  (Or not - sometimes they are merely an advertising gimmick!)
* A '''complement''', or a '''complement'''ary thing, is something that completes something else (a clue to remembering may be found in the spellings: both start '''compl<big>e</big>-'''). For example, a ship's '''complement''' is her crew; one might say that an assignment has a '''complement'''ary Guide to experimental techniques; yin is '''complement'''ary to yang.

In [[grammar]] a [[complement]] is one of the structural [[elements of a clause]]. See [[Complement (grammar)]] for more detailed information.

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