Complement (grammar)

This article is part of the grammar course. You may choose to follow it in a structured way, or read each item separately. Word classes noun verb adjective adverb article preposition conjunction pronoun interjection Units of language syllable word phrase clause sentence Structure of a clause Subject Verb Complement Adverbial view template

(For the commonly confused homophones, see compliment - complement)

In grammar, a complement is that which completes a sentence. For some sentences, Subject + Verb is enough ("John runs"), for others, we instinctively feel that something more is required ("John has"). There may be more than one Object, or Complement, in a Clause.

Traditionally, the only functions called Complements were the copular or adjectival Complement:

• The copular Complement follows the verb 'to be' (this verb is called the copula). For example, in the sentence “She is Scottish”, ‘Scottish’ is the Complement of ‘is’; in the sentence “This is Hull”, ‘Hull’ is the complement of ‘is’; and ‘Thursday’ is the complement of ‘is’ in “Today is Thursday” .
• The adjectival Complement (.... WRITE ME)

Other functions may or may not be called Complements, depending on which grammarian you ask:

• The prepositional complement is the name given to the noun or noun phrase that follows a preposition, such as "in town", "at work", or "the pen of my aunt".

• Direct
• Indirect.