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FINDING COMPLEMENTS

•First find the verb and label it action or linking.

VERBS THAT MAY BE LINKING

• Be verbs: am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been

• Five senses: look, taste, smell, sound, feel

• BRATSS GROW: become, remain, appear, turn, stay, seem, grow

WAYS TO TELL IF THESE ARE ACTION OR LINKING

• Does the main word after the verb describe or rename the subject?

• Can you substitute a form of the verb seem or be (was, were) for the verb?

ACTION OR LINKING

• Jennifer tasted the salty pie. 1. Does pie rename or describe Jennifer?

2. Can you substitute seemed or was for tasted?

• If you can’t do both of these, it is action.

ACTION OR LINKING• The newly baked pie tasted salty.

1. Does salty describe pie?2. Can you substitute seemed

or was for tasted? • If the answer is yes, it is linking.• This material feels rough.• Sandy felt the material of her

dress..

SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS• Find the verb. Label action or

linking.

• The main word after the linking verb that answers who or what will be a predicate nominative or predicate adjective.

PREDICATE NOMINATIVE–Predicate nominative renames the

subject and answers who/what after a linking verb.

– It is a noun or a pronoun.

–Example. Mrs. Mercer is my English teacher. (Teacher is the main word answering what after the linking verb).

Predicate Adjectives• Predicate adjectives still answer

what after the linking verb.

• They describe the subject.

• They are always adjectives.

• The track star appeared tired after the thirty-mile relay. (Tired describes the subject and answers what after the linking verb.

• Why isn’t salty a predicate adjective in the following sentence?

• The freshly baked dessert was actually a salty pie.

DIRECT OBJECTS• Direct object answers whom or what

after an action verb.

• … Jeff bought a pencil at the school store. (Bought what? Pencil. Pencil is the direct object.

INDIRECT OBJECTS

• Indirect objects answer the questions for whom/what or to whom/what.

• They ALWAYS come between the action verb and the direct object.

• They NEVER come after a preposition.

• You cannot have an indirect object without a direct object.

• Jeff gave Mary a headache with all of his questions. Gave what? Headache. Headache is your direct object. To whom? Mary. Mary is your indirect object. It answers to whom; it comes between the action verb and the direct object.

• Jeff gave a headache to Mary. ( No indirect object)

OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT

• An Objective Complement is a noun or adjective that comes after the direct object either renaming or describing that object. … A noun renames the D.O.

• … An adjective describes the D.O.

A TEST TO LOCATE OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENTS

• If you can substitute the verbs consider or make for the verb, it may be an objective complement.

• If you can add to be before the objective complement, it will contain one also.

• We elected Cynthia president.

VERBS THAT USUALLY HAVE AN OBJECTIVE COM.

• MAKE

• CONSIDER• ELECT

• APPOINT

• NAME

• CHOOSE

• RENDER

• THOUGHT

EXAMPLES

• Henry VIII made Catherine of Aragon his queen.

• Todd considers Marilyn quite intelligent.

• She thought the day disagreeable.

• Jealousy made Othello a murderer.

RETAINED OBJECTS• A noun that remains an object when a

verb, having both a direct and indirect object in the active voice, is put into the passive voice.

• The one object becomes the subject and the other remains the object.

• Remember: in the active voice, the subject acts. In the passive, it receives.

Examples• ACTIVE VOICE:

…The band granted him a year’s leave of absence.

• PASSIVE VOICE: …He was granted a year’s leave of absence.

• Your I.O.became the subject and your D.O. became the R.O.

• ACTIVE VOICE:

• The teacher asked the student a difficult question.

• PASSIVE VOICE:

• The student was asked a difficult question.