SENTENCE COMPLEMENTS - COMPLETE LESSON
Master the three main kinds of verbs and sentence complements in English grammar!
LESSON 1: THREE MAIN KINDS OF VERBS
- Transitive verbs: Express action that passes from the subject to an object (e.g., Omar typed the letter)
- Intransitive verbs: Express action without an object (e.g., Elliot slept)
- Linking verbs: Express a state of being and link the subject to another word (e.g., Kareem is a school teacher)
LESSON 2: DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS
- Direct Object: Answers "what?" or "whom?" after transitive verb
- Indirect Object: Answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" - comes between verb and direct object
LESSON 4: SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS
- Noun, pronoun, or adjective following a linking verb that refers to or describes the subject.
Perfect for students, teachers, and English learners!
Like, Subscribe, and Share with friends learning English!
#EnglishGrammar #SentenceComplements #Grammar #Verbs #LearnEnglish #LanguageLearning #Education #ESL
Master the three main kinds of verbs and sentence complements in English grammar!
LESSON 1: THREE MAIN KINDS OF VERBS
- Transitive verbs: Express action that passes from the subject to an object (e.g., Omar typed the letter)
- Intransitive verbs: Express action without an object (e.g., Elliot slept)
- Linking verbs: Express a state of being and link the subject to another word (e.g., Kareem is a school teacher)
LESSON 2: DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS
- Direct Object: Answers "what?" or "whom?" after transitive verb
- Indirect Object: Answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" - comes between verb and direct object
LESSON 4: SUBJECT COMPLEMENTS
- Noun, pronoun, or adjective following a linking verb that refers to or describes the subject.
Perfect for students, teachers, and English learners!
Like, Subscribe, and Share with friends learning English!
#EnglishGrammar #SentenceComplements #Grammar #Verbs #LearnEnglish #LanguageLearning #Education #ESL
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00:12Hi, I'm Carl Weber. Welcome to Video Aided Instruction's English grammar series. This
00:00:20is the Sentence Compliments program. Do you like compliments? Most people do. Gee, I like
00:00:27what you've done with this apartment. Your hair looks good today. Great shoes. Well, the
00:00:33kinds of compliments we'll be talking about in this program are a little different. The
00:00:37kind of compliments I just talked about are spelled C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T-S.
00:00:44The compliments
00:00:45we'll be talking about in this program use the letter E in place of the letter I. And
00:00:51that word compliment is connected with the verb complete. To complete something is to
00:00:57finish it or to round it out. And a sentence compliment is a word or a group of words that
00:01:03completes the thought begun by the subject and the verb in a sentence. We've been talking
00:01:09in other programs in this series about how a sentence is a bit like a machine made up
00:01:15of various parts. The sub-sentence compliment is one of the important kinds of parts that
00:01:20go to make up a sentence. And it's important that you understand how to use sentence compliments
00:01:26in order to express your meaning clearly and accurately. In this program, we'll talk about
00:01:31the different kinds of sentence compliments and give you some basic rules for using them
00:01:36correctly in English sentences. Before we can talk directly about sentence compliments,
00:01:48we need to talk about three kinds of verbs in English. As you'll see, each of these three
00:01:54kinds of verbs is related to a particular type of sentence compliment. The three main kinds
00:02:01of verbs in English are transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, and linking verbs. Let's take a look
00:02:08at each. A transitive verb expresses action that passes from the subject of the verb to an object
00:02:16of the verb. As you recall, a verb is a word that expresses action or state of being. A transitive
00:02:23verb is always an action verb. The subject of the verb is the person or thing that does the action
00:02:30of the verb. The object of a transitive verb receives the action. Take a look at this sentence
00:02:37as an example. Omar typed the letter. Now, what's the verb in this sentence? The verb is the word typed.
00:02:46What's the subject of the verb typed? That is, who or what did the typing? The answer is Omar. So
00:02:53Omar
00:02:54is the subject. Typed is the verb. Now, this is a transitive verb because it has an object. That is,
00:03:01something
00:03:02that receives the action of the verb. Who or what receives the action of the typing in this sentence?
00:03:09The answer is letter. The word letter is a noun which is receiving the action of the verb typed,
00:03:16and therefore, it's the object of the verb. Because the verb typed has an object which receives the action,
00:03:23we refer to typed as a transitive verb. Here's another example. Lorraine swam 20 laps. What's the verb in this
00:03:34sentence?
00:03:35The verb is swam. What's the subject of the verb swam? That is, who or what did the swimming? The
00:03:42answer, Lorraine. Lorraine swam.
00:03:44Now, what did Lorraine swim? That is, what receives the action of the verb swam in this sentence?
00:03:52The answer is lapse. Lapse is a noun which receives the action of the verb swam. It tells us what
00:03:59Lorraine swam.
00:04:01So lapse is the object of the verb swam, and therefore, in this sentence, swam is a transitive verb.
00:04:09Because only a transitive verb expresses action that passes from the subject of the verb to an object.
00:04:17Now, the second type of verb is an intransitive verb. As you may know, the prefix in, in English, usually
00:04:25means not.
00:04:26It takes the meaning of the word and reverses it or negates it.
00:04:31So you might be able to guess that an intransitive verb is a verb that is not transitive.
00:04:36And that's exactly right. Here's the definition.
00:04:40An intransitive verb expresses action that does not have an object.
00:04:46We saw a moment ago that a transitive verb has an object which receives the action of the verb.
00:04:52An intransitive verb doesn't have such an object.
00:04:56Take a look at this sentence.
00:04:58Elliot slept.
00:05:00This is a short sentence, only two words, but it is a complete sentence.
00:05:05It has a subject and a verb, and it expresses a complete thought.
00:05:08In this sentence, the verb is slept, and the subject is Elliot.
00:05:13And the verb does not have any object.
00:05:15It expresses a complete thought without having an object.
00:05:19We don't need to ask, what did Elliot sleep?
00:05:22Because the meaning is complete without any object.
00:05:26Elliot slept, that tells us exactly what happened.
00:05:29It's perfectly clear, and it doesn't sound incomplete.
00:05:32So slept in this sentence is an intransitive verb.
00:05:35It has no object, and it doesn't need one.
00:05:38Here's another example.
00:05:41Jacques laughed.
00:05:43Again, it's a very short sentence, but it is complete.
00:05:46It contains a subject and a verb.
00:05:48The verb is laughed.
00:05:49The subject is Jacques.
00:05:51Jacques is the one doing the laughing.
00:05:53And there is no object.
00:05:55The sentence doesn't tell us what Jacques laughed.
00:05:58He simply laughed.
00:06:00That's a complete thought, a complete idea in itself, and no object is needed.
00:06:05Once again, we're dealing with an intransitive verb in this sentence.
00:06:10The third type of verb is a linking verb.
00:06:13A linking verb expresses a state of being.
00:06:17It links the subject to another word in the sentence.
00:06:21Remember that our definition of verb explains that a verb is a word that expresses an action or a state
00:06:28of being.
00:06:28Both transitive and intransitive verbs express actions.
00:06:33A linking verb expresses a state of being.
00:06:36Rather than telling us what the subject does, it tells us what the subject is.
00:06:41The most common linking verb is be.
00:06:46And the word be in many different forms is found in lots of sentences.
00:06:51Some other common linking verbs are act, appear, seem, taste, and turn.
00:06:59And there are quite a few others.
00:07:01You can recognize a linking verb by the fact that what follows the linking verb
00:07:06and the subject of the linking verb are in some way the same.
00:07:10The linking verb is called a linking verb because it links those two things and in some way equates them
00:07:17or tells us that they are one and the same thing.
00:07:21Here are a couple of examples.
00:07:24Karim is a school teacher.
00:07:27We said a moment ago that the verb to be is the most common linking verb.
00:07:31Here's an example of a form of the verb to be.
00:07:34The verb is.
00:07:36What's the subject of the verb is?
00:07:38Karim.
00:07:39Karim is the one who is.
00:07:41And following the verb is, we're told exactly what Karim is.
00:07:46A teacher or specifically a school teacher.
00:07:48So in this case, the subject Karim is being linked by the linking verb is to the word teacher.
00:07:56Karim is teacher.
00:07:58And the words a school are giving a little more information about what kind of teacher.
00:08:04Notice that is is operating here as a linking verb because it's linking Karim and teacher.
00:08:10It's telling us that Karim and teacher are in some way the same thing.
00:08:15And in fact, they are.
00:08:16That's what Karim is.
00:08:17So the two things are being linked or equated to one another.
00:08:20And that's how a linking verb works.
00:08:24As I've said, the verb to be is the most common linking verb.
00:08:28But there are a number of others.
00:08:29Here's an example.
00:08:31Leanna looked nervous.
00:08:34What's the verb in this sentence?
00:08:36The verb is looked.
00:08:37The subject is Leanna.
00:08:40That tells us who looked.
00:08:41And the word that follows looked is the word nervous.
00:08:45And this is being linked to Leanna by the linking verb looked.
00:08:50We can tell that in this sentence, looked is operating as a linking verb because Leanna and the word that
00:08:56follows, nervous, are being linked or equated with one another.
00:09:00We're being told that Leanna and nervous are in some way the same thing.
00:09:05And in fact, we know that Leanna is nervous.
00:09:08Notice that in this case, the verb looked, which is a linking verb in this sentence, is being used to
00:09:14mean almost the same as the verb to be.
00:09:17When we say that Leanna looked nervous, we're saying in a way that Leanna is or was nervous.
00:09:24So the verb looked is being used as a linking verb in a way that's similar to the way the
00:09:30verb to be is used.
00:09:31We're being told that Leanna and nervous are linked or equated in some way.
00:09:37And that's why looked is being used in this sentence as a linking verb.
00:09:42One more example.
00:09:44Edgardo felt optimistic.
00:09:47In this sentence, the verb is felt and the subject is Edgardo.
00:09:52And what did Edgardo feel?
00:09:54He felt optimistic.
00:09:56Once again, felt is being used as a linking verb in this sentence because Edgardo and optimistic are being linked.
00:10:03They are being equated.
00:10:05When we say that Edgardo felt optimistic, that's almost the same thing as saying he was optimistic.
00:10:11It's just putting a slightly different meaning on it.
00:10:14So in this sentence, felt is being used as a linking verb.
00:10:18And what comes before and after the linking verb, those two things are being equated or being made to appear
00:10:26the same.
00:10:27Edgardo and optimistic go together.
00:10:29And that's why felt is considered a linking verb in this sentence.
00:10:33These then are the three kinds of verbs.
00:10:35Transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, and linking verbs.
00:10:39And as you'll see in a moment, it's important to understand the difference in order to understand how sentence complements
00:10:46are used.
00:10:46Notice that some verbs can be used as more than one kind of verb.
00:10:52In other words, the very same verb word can be used in a transitive way or an intransitive way or
00:10:59perhaps as a linking verb.
00:11:01Take a look at these examples.
00:11:04Miguel ran.
00:11:06Here's a short sentence which expresses a complete thought in itself.
00:11:10The verb is ran.
00:11:11The subject is Miguel.
00:11:12And when we read this sentence, we understand Miguel ran.
00:11:16Perhaps he's a runner on the track team and went out running this morning.
00:11:20And we could say, well, Miguel ran.
00:11:21This could be a complete sentence.
00:11:24And in this case, the verb ran is being used as what kind of verb?
00:11:29Transitive, intransitive, or linking.
00:11:32In this case, ran is being used as an intransitive verb.
00:11:37Remember that an intransitive verb doesn't have any object.
00:11:41The action simply stops with the verb ran.
00:11:44And the action does not pass on to an object that follows the verb.
00:11:48Miguel ran, a complete sentence in itself, and ran is an intransitive verb.
00:11:55But now compare it to this sentence.
00:11:57Jorge ran the car wash.
00:12:00Here we have the same verb, ran.
00:12:02But it's used in a very different way than in the previous sentence.
00:12:06In the previous sentence, we saw that the verb ran had no object.
00:12:10Miguel ran, and that was the end of the sentence.
00:12:13In this case, the verb ran does have an object.
00:12:16The action of the verb ran is being passed on to something which is receiving that action, namely the car
00:12:23wash.
00:12:24That is what Jorge ran.
00:12:26So, in this sentence, the verb ran, this very same verb that we saw a moment ago being used as
00:12:33an intransitive verb,
00:12:34is being used as a transitive verb, a verb that has an object which receives the action of the verb.
00:12:41So, these two sentences show us that the same verb can sometimes be used as either a transitive verb or
00:12:48an intransitive verb.
00:12:50Here's another example of how the role played by the same verb may change from one sentence to the next.
00:12:57Anna grew tomatoes.
00:12:59In this sentence, the verb is grew.
00:13:02The subject is Anna.
00:13:04Now, what did Anna grow?
00:13:06Is there an object to the verb grew?
00:13:08Yes, there is.
00:13:10She grew tomatoes.
00:13:11So, the noun tomatoes is the object of the verb grew.
00:13:16It receives the action of the verb.
00:13:18Therefore, what kind of verb is grew in this sentence?
00:13:22It's a transitive verb because, remember, only transitive verbs pass the action along to an object.
00:13:29Compare that with this sentence.
00:13:31Tova grew hungry.
00:13:34Here we have the same verb, grew, but the meaning is a little different and the structure of the sentence
00:13:39is different.
00:13:40In this case, the verb grew doesn't have an object.
00:13:45This word hungry doesn't tell us a thing that Tova grew the way Anna grew tomatoes.
00:13:54Hungry isn't a noun and it doesn't name some object which receives the action of the verb grew.
00:14:01Instead, it tells us what Tova was.
00:14:04Therefore, what kind of verb is grew?
00:14:07In this case, grew is being used as a linking verb.
00:14:11The two words Tova and hungry are being linked or equated.
00:14:15We're being told, in effect, that Tova was hungry.
00:14:19She grew hungry.
00:14:20That is, she got to be hungry over time.
00:14:23But, in effect, the two things are being equated with one another.
00:14:27Tova was hungry.
00:14:29That's another way of saying almost the same thing as Tova grew hungry.
00:14:34So, in this particular example, the verb grew is being used as a linking verb.
00:14:40It is linking Tova and hungry.
00:14:42The two things are being equated with one another.
00:14:46Hungry is not the object of the action.
00:14:49It's not receiving the action in the way the tomatoes received the action of growing in the sentence about Anna.
00:14:56Instead, grew is being used as a linking verb.
00:14:58And Tova and hungry are being equated with one another.
00:15:02Once again, notice that the very same verb can be used with different meanings to play a different role in
00:15:09a sentence.
00:15:10So, the same verb may be a transitive verb or an intransitive verb or a linking verb.
00:15:16You can't tell what type of verb a verb is just by looking at the verb in isolation.
00:15:23Instead, you have to look at it in the context of the sentence and understand how it's being used and
00:15:28how it relates to the words nearby.
00:15:31In your study guide, we've provided an exercise which will enable you to test your understanding of these concepts.
00:15:45In this exercise, your job is to look at the underlined verb in each sentence and decide whether it's being
00:15:51used as a transitive verb, an intransitive verb, or a linking verb.
00:15:56Let's start with the first sentence.
00:15:58The author, Earl Stanley Gardner, wrote a number of books using the pen name AA Fair.
00:16:05Now, in this sentence, the verb wrote is underlined.
00:16:09In order to determine whether it's a transitive verb, an intransitive verb, or a linking verb, you need to decide
00:16:15whether it's a verb of action or a verb of being.
00:16:18And if it's a verb of action, whether there is something in the sentence which receives the action of the
00:16:24verb.
00:16:24Well, in this case, wrote is being used as a verb of action.
00:16:29It is telling us something that the author, Earl Stanley Gardner, did.
00:16:33And is there anything in the sentence which receives the action of the verb wrote?
00:16:39That is, does the sentence tell us something that Earl Stanley Gardner wrote?
00:16:44The answer is yes. There is something that receives the action of the verb in this sentence.
00:16:49It's the word number. Or to give the entire phrase, it's a number of books.
00:16:55That's what he wrote. He wrote a number of books.
00:16:58And therefore, there is an object that's receiving the action of the verb.
00:17:04The verb wrote, its action flows through to a number of books.
00:17:09Therefore, wrote is being used as a transitive verb.
00:17:14Because remember, only a transitive verb has an object which follows it, which receives the action of the verb.
00:17:22Let's look at the next example.
00:17:24Upon closer examination, several spokes of the bicycle's rear wheel appeared broken.
00:17:32In this sentence, the verb appeared is underlined.
00:17:35Let's begin by asking, what's the subject of the verb appeared?
00:17:39The answer is the word spokes.
00:17:42Don't be misled by the fact that several words come between the word spokes and the word appeared.
00:17:48It's the spokes that appeared broken.
00:17:52What kind of spokes? The spokes of the bicycle's rear wheel.
00:17:56So that prepositional phrase, of the bicycle's rear wheel, simply modifies or gives more information about the spokes.
00:18:04That's not where the actual subject of the verb appears.
00:18:08The subject is spokes.
00:18:11So the spokes appeared broken.
00:18:13Now, in this case, is appeared being used as a verb of action or a verb of being?
00:18:19Well, it's being used as a verb of being because it's not telling us something that the spokes did.
00:18:24It's telling us something that the spokes were.
00:18:27Namely, they were broken.
00:18:29The word appeared is being used almost as the equivalent of the verb to be.
00:18:34And the two things are being linked.
00:18:36The spokes, which is the subject of the verb appeared.
00:18:39And the word broken, which comes after the verb, those two things are being linked.
00:18:44And we're being told that the spokes were broken.
00:18:47What comes before and after the verb are being equated in this sentence.
00:18:52So, appeared is being used as a linking verb.
00:18:56Our next example.
00:18:58Ivan and Sasha danced together until two o'clock, when the band finally stopped playing.
00:19:05Now, in this sentence, the word danced is underlined.
00:19:08So, that's the verb that we want to focus on.
00:19:11What's the subject of the verb danced?
00:19:14The answer is Ivan and Sasha.
00:19:17Remember that the subject of a verb may be compound.
00:19:20That is, it may be two nouns that are joined by a word like and.
00:19:24So, Ivan and Sasha are the subject of the verb danced.
00:19:28Now, does the verb danced here have an object which receives the action of the dancing?
00:19:34That is, are we being told something that Ivan and Sasha danced?
00:19:38Not in this sentence.
00:19:40We're being told that they danced together.
00:19:42That tells us how they danced.
00:19:44And we're being told that they danced together until two o'clock.
00:19:48Which is a little more information about how they danced.
00:19:51The word together is an adverb.
00:19:53Because it gives more information about, or modifies, the verb danced.
00:19:58It tells us how they danced.
00:20:00And until two o'clock is a prepositional phrase.
00:20:04That also gives us more information about how they danced.
00:20:08Neither one, however, is an object.
00:20:10And neither one is being linked to Ivan and Sasha.
00:20:13Neither one tells us what Ivan and Sasha were.
00:20:17Therefore, the verb danced, in this case, doesn't have an object.
00:20:21And it's not being used as a linking verb.
00:20:23It is an intransitive verb.
00:20:26Remember that an intransitive verb is a verb of action that doesn't have an object receiving the action.
00:20:33And that's the case in this sentence.
00:20:35The verb danced is being used here as an intransitive verb.
00:20:39Notice, by the way, that the verb danced can be used as a transitive verb.
00:20:45You could imagine a sentence in which there is an object receiving the action of the verb danced.
00:20:50For example, you could say, Ivan and Sasha danced the polka.
00:20:55In that sentence, the word polka would be receiving the action of the verb danced.
00:21:00It would be telling us what they danced.
00:21:02And we would have transformed the verb danced from an intransitive verb to a transitive verb.
00:21:09Because there would be an object receiving the action of the verb.
00:21:12There is no such object in this sentence.
00:21:15And therefore, the correct answer for this sentence in your exercise is intransitive.
00:21:21The next sentence.
00:21:23Even by modern engineering standards, the pyramids of Egypt remain an incredible achievement.
00:21:29The verb remain is underlined.
00:21:32What's the subject of the verb remain?
00:21:34What remain an incredible achievement?
00:21:37The answer is pyramids.
00:21:39Once again, the fact that some other words come between the subject and the verb shouldn't confuse you.
00:21:45It's not Egypt that remains an incredible achievement.
00:21:48It's the pyramids that remain an incredible achievement.
00:21:52Now, what about the words that follow remain?
00:21:54How do those relate back to the verb?
00:21:58Are they the object of the verb?
00:22:00That is, do they receive the action of the verb?
00:22:03Or do they play some other role?
00:22:05Well, in this case, remain is not a verb of action, but rather a verb of being.
00:22:10And therefore, you can probably anticipate that it's being used as a linking verb.
00:22:15Because that's how verbs of being are used.
00:22:19And sure enough, what follows the verb remain is an incredible achievement.
00:22:23These words explain what the pyramids of Egypt are.
00:22:28They are an incredible achievement.
00:22:30So what comes before and after the verb in this sentence, those two things are being equated.
00:22:36We're being told that they are the same as one another.
00:22:38And that makes the verb remain a linking verb.
00:22:44Our next example.
00:22:45Working with extreme care, the bomb squad removed the suspicious package.
00:22:51In this sentence, the verb removed has been underlined.
00:22:54And the subject of the verb is the bomb squad, or specifically the word squad.
00:23:00Now, what did the bomb squad remove?
00:23:03Is there an object for the action of this verb?
00:23:06Yes, there is.
00:23:07The object is the noun package, or to give the complete phrase, the suspicious package.
00:23:13So the package is receiving the action of the verb removed.
00:23:17It's telling us what they removed.
00:23:19And therefore, package is the object of the transitive verb in this sentence.
00:23:25So for this last example in the exercise, the verb is being used as a transitive verb.
00:23:31Did you get all five of these questions right?
00:23:33I hope so.
00:23:35Let's turn now to lesson two.
00:23:42Now, remember, the topic of this program is sentence complements.
00:23:47Everything we've been looking at so far relates to words or groups of words that complete the meaning of the
00:23:54subject and the verb.
00:23:55In the next lesson and the ones to follow, we're going to be talking about different kinds of subject complements.
00:24:02First, direct objects.
00:24:05A direct object is a noun or a pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb.
00:24:12It answers the question, what or whom, after the transitive verb.
00:24:19By now, you're probably fairly familiar with the idea that a transitive verb passes the action along to some object.
00:24:28Well, technically, this is known as a direct object.
00:24:32And the reason that that particular term is important will become clear in a few moments when we move on
00:24:38to lesson three.
00:24:39A direct object is always a noun or a pronoun and it receives the action of the transitive verb.
00:24:46So any time a verb is being used as a transitive verb in a sentence, you can be sure that
00:24:52it's followed somewhere by a noun or a pronoun which receives the action of the verb and which is known
00:24:58as the direct object.
00:24:59Of course, there may be other words nearby that modify or give more information about the direct object.
00:25:06But the one word noun or pronoun that receives the action, that's what's known as the direct object.
00:25:13Take a look at this example.
00:25:16Elaine washed her car.
00:25:18What's the verb here?
00:25:20Washed.
00:25:21The subject?
00:25:22Elaine.
00:25:23And what did Elaine wash?
00:25:24She washed her car.
00:25:26Where's the noun or pronoun that tells us exactly what Elaine washed?
00:25:30The noun car tells us what Elaine washed.
00:25:34And so that's the direct object of the verb washed.
00:25:38The word her, which is a possessive pronoun, gives us a little more information about the car.
00:25:44It modifies the noun car by telling us which car, whose car it was.
00:25:50But the word car, that noun, is the direct object.
00:25:53It receives the action of the transitive verb washed.
00:25:57One more example.
00:25:59Derek applauded the band.
00:26:01What's the verb here?
00:26:03Applauded.
00:26:04The subject of the verb?
00:26:06Derek.
00:26:06And who or what did Derek applaud?
00:26:10Well, Derek applauded the band.
00:26:13So, band, that noun, is the direct object of the transitive verb applauded.
00:26:18The, the article, is thrown in to give a little more information, to modify the band, to tell us which
00:26:24band.
00:26:25But the word band, that noun, is the direct object of the verb applauded.
00:26:30One more thing to realize about direct objects.
00:26:33They may be compound.
00:26:36We've already seen in this series that both subjects and verbs may be compound.
00:26:42That is, more than one word may be part of the subject and the verb.
00:26:46And the two or more subjects or verbs would then be joined by a coordinating conjunction, such as and.
00:26:54The same can be done with direct objects.
00:26:57That is, one sentence, one verb, may have more than one direct object.
00:27:02And the two or more direct objects would be joined by a coordinating conjunction, such as and.
00:27:08Here's an example.
00:27:10Dawn bought a blouse and a pair of shoes.
00:27:14What's the verb in this sentence?
00:27:16The verb is bought.
00:27:17The subject, Dawn.
00:27:19She's the one who did the buying.
00:27:21Now, is there anything in the sentence that tells us what Dawn bought?
00:27:26Anything that receives the action of the buying?
00:27:28Well, the answer is there are really two things that Dawn bought.
00:27:32She bought a blouse and a pair of shoes.
00:27:34The two main nouns in those phrases would be the direct objects, blouse and pair.
00:27:42The other words that are there give us a little more information.
00:27:45What kind of blouse?
00:27:47A blouse.
00:27:48What kind of pair?
00:27:49A pair.
00:27:50And a pair, specifically, of shoes.
00:27:52So, those other words give us more information about what kind of blouse and what kind of pair.
00:27:58Those two nouns, blouse and pair, are the two words that both go to make up the direct object in
00:28:04this sentence.
00:28:04So, this is an example of how a sentence may contain a compound direct object with two or more things,
00:28:12both of which receive the action of the transitive verb, in this case, bought.
00:28:17Turn to your study guide.
00:28:19We have an exercise now that will test your ability to recognize direct objects when they appear in sentences.
00:28:25Try your hand at the exercise and then come back and we'll look at the questions together.
00:28:37In this exercise, your assignment was to decide whether a direct object appears in the sentence.
00:28:43Not all of the sentences contain direct objects.
00:28:46In order to decide whether there's a direct object or not, you need to begin by finding the verb
00:28:51and then looking to see whether there's a word that receives the action of the verb.
00:28:55Let's begin.
00:28:57The voters in Lincoln County have selected Anderson for the state legislature four times in a row.
00:29:04Let's begin by finding the verb in this sentence.
00:29:07The verb is, have selected.
00:29:09Remember that some verbs contain more than one word, in which case we refer to it as a verb phrase.
00:29:15In this sentence, have selected is the verb phrase, which gives the action to the sentence.
00:29:23What is the subject of the verb have selected?
00:29:27That is, who or what is doing the selecting?
00:29:29The answer is the voters.
00:29:32The voters are the one who have selected.
00:29:34Now, is there any word that receives the action of the verb have selected?
00:29:39That is, is there any word that answers the question what or whom after the verb have selected?
00:29:47Well, the answer is, the voters have selected Anderson.
00:29:51Anderson receives the action of the verb have selected, and therefore Anderson is the direct object of the verb in
00:29:59this sentence.
00:30:01The next example.
00:30:02General Sullivan led a fascinating tour of the historic Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
00:30:11Once again, what's the verb?
00:30:13The verb is, led.
00:30:15The subject of the verb is General Sullivan.
00:30:18General Sullivan is the person who led.
00:30:21Now, what did General Sullivan lead?
00:30:23What or whom did he lead?
00:30:25Is there a word that answers that question?
00:30:28That is, a word which receives the action of the verb, led?
00:30:31Yes, what he led was a tour, specifically, a fascinating tour.
00:30:37But the noun, tour, is the key word.
00:30:40That's the direct object of the verb, led.
00:30:43It tells us what General Sullivan led.
00:30:45The other words there, a fascinating, give more information about the tour.
00:30:50They tell us what kind of tour it was.
00:30:53Notice that all the other words that follow the word, tour, in this sentence,
00:30:57again, go to give more information about the action.
00:31:01They don't receive the action directly.
00:31:03They just give more information about it.
00:31:05What kind of tour was it?
00:31:07It was a tour of the historic Civil War battlefield.
00:31:11And where was that battlefield?
00:31:12In Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
00:31:15Those two groups of words are prepositional phrases, and the prepositional phrases give more information about the action.
00:31:22They don't receive the action of the verb directly.
00:31:26One tip when you're looking for the direct object of a verb is that the direct object will never be
00:31:31found in a prepositional phrase.
00:31:34The prepositional phrase may give more information about the object, but the prepositional phrase will never contain the object of
00:31:41the verb.
00:31:42That's how we know that those words of the historic Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, don't contain the direct
00:31:50object.
00:31:51The direct object is the word tour.
00:31:55Next example.
00:31:57Paula exercised in the weight room at the local gymnasium three times a week this past summer.
00:32:03What's the verb here?
00:32:04The verb is exercised.
00:32:07What's the subject?
00:32:08Who did the exercising?
00:32:10Paula.
00:32:10Paula exercised.
00:32:12That's the subject and the verb.
00:32:14Now, is there a word that receives the action of the verb exercised?
00:32:19That is, is there a word that answers the question, Paula exercised what?
00:32:24Or, Paula exercised whom?
00:32:26Well, the answer is, there is no word that answers that question.
00:32:30We're not told, for example, that Paula exercised her dog.
00:32:35Or, Paula exercised her rights.
00:32:37Either of those might be the direct object of the verb exercised, but we're not told that at all.
00:32:43Paula exercised and the action ends with the word exercised.
00:32:47All the other words in the sentence give more information about how and where and when she did the exercising,
00:32:54but they do not receive the action of the exercising.
00:32:58Therefore, there is no direct object for the verb exercised in this sentence.
00:33:03Remember, that means that the verb exercised is an intransitive verb.
00:33:07It doesn't have a direct object which receives the action.
00:33:12Next example.
00:33:13The theories of Isaac Newton revolutionized physics and astronomy.
00:33:19The verb here is revolutionized.
00:33:22What's the subject?
00:33:23The subject is theories.
00:33:25It was the theories that revolutionized.
00:33:28And what did they revolutionize?
00:33:30That is, what receives the action of the verb revolutionized?
00:33:34Well, in this case, there are two things that were revolutionized, physics and astronomy.
00:33:40So both of those words are part of the direct object of the verb revolutionized.
00:33:46So we have, in this sentence, a compound direct object.
00:33:50Remember, a direct object can include two or more things, joined usually by a coordinating conjunction like and.
00:33:57So in this sentence, there are two direct objects joined by the word and, physics and astronomy.
00:34:05Our last example.
00:34:07Benjamin Franklin's first job was working as an apprentice in a printing shop.
00:34:13What's the verb in this sentence?
00:34:15The verb is was.
00:34:17And perhaps you could recognize right away that this is not the kind of verb that has a direct object.
00:34:23Was is a form of the verb to be.
00:34:25And remember, to be is the most common and most important of the linking verbs.
00:34:31To be is naturally a verb of being rather than a verb of action.
00:34:36And remember that only verbs of action can be transitive verbs.
00:34:40Only verbs of action can pass their action along to a direct object.
00:34:45So this particular sentence does not have a direct object.
00:34:48It's the second example in this exercise of a sentence that doesn't have a direct object.
00:34:53The verb was has as its subject job.
00:34:58And what follows tells us what the job was.
00:35:01It was working as an apprentice in a printing shop.
00:35:04So was is being used as a linking verb.
00:35:07And what comes before and after the linking verb, those two things are being equated.
00:35:12They are being, we are being told that they are one and the same.
00:35:15This is different from having a direct object which receives the action of the verb.
00:35:21So for this sentence, there is no direct object.
00:35:29We've been talking about direct objects which receive the action of the verb.
00:35:34There's another type of object that a verb may have.
00:35:37It's called an indirect object.
00:35:39An indirect object is a noun or a pronoun that answers the question,
00:35:45to what, to whom, for what, or for whom, after a transitive verb.
00:35:53An indirect object comes between the verb and the direct object in a sentence.
00:35:58The sentences we've been looking at so far under the heading of direct objects contain a subject, a transitive verb,
00:36:07and then a direct object which receives the action of the verb.
00:36:11Some sentences that contain transitive verbs also contain indirect objects.
00:36:16Not all, not even most, but some sentences will contain that indirect object as well.
00:36:22The indirect object tells us to whom or for whom the action has been done.
00:36:29And the indirect object actually appears in the sentence between the verb and the direct object.
00:36:36If this sounds a bit confusing, look at this example, which should make it all very clear.
00:36:42Andrea told her mother the good news.
00:36:45What's the verb in this sentence?
00:36:47The verb is told.
00:36:49That tells us what was done.
00:36:51And who or what is the subject?
00:36:53Andrea.
00:36:54Andrea is the one who did the telling.
00:36:56Now, what's the direct object of the verb told?
00:36:59That is, what did Andrea tell?
00:37:01Andrea told what?
00:37:02She told the good news.
00:37:04The noun news specifically is the direct object.
00:37:08That's what Andrea told.
00:37:10However, we notice there's another noun, her mother.
00:37:13That phrase has been stuck in between the direct object and the verb.
00:37:18What role does her mother play?
00:37:20Her mother is the indirect object.
00:37:23That answers the question, to whom Andrea told the good news.
00:37:27So the direct object is news.
00:37:30That's what Andrea told.
00:37:31And her mother is the indirect object.
00:37:34That's the person to whom the news was told.
00:37:37So you notice that a specific type of transitive verb is necessary to make an indirect object make sense.
00:37:45A verb like tell is one that makes sense as having an indirect object.
00:37:50Because it's the kind of verb where you would do the action to someone or for someone.
00:37:57You tell someone some news.
00:38:00That is, you tell the news to a particular person.
00:38:03So in this case, mother, that noun is the indirect object of the transitive verb told.
00:38:10And notice that the indirect object has been placed in between the verb and the direct object.
00:38:17When you learn English, that's one of the things that you learn, perhaps unconsciously.
00:38:24Little children who are learning English at their mother's knee never learn this rule.
00:38:29That is, that an indirect object appears in such and such a place in the sentence.
00:38:33But somehow, just from hearing hundreds and thousands of English sentences,
00:38:37they come to understand that a noun or pronoun that's been placed in that location in a sentence is serving
00:38:44in that way.
00:38:44It's answering the question, to what, to whom, for what, or for whom.
00:38:50And therefore, it's serving as the indirect object.
00:38:53Here's another sentence to illustrate how this works.
00:38:57Stuart bought Donna a bouquet of flowers.
00:39:00The verb is bought.
00:39:02The subject is Stuart.
00:39:04Stuart did the buying.
00:39:05And what did Stuart buy?
00:39:07That is, what's the direct object?
00:39:08He bought a bouquet.
00:39:10Specifically, a bouquet of flowers.
00:39:12But the noun bouquet is the direct object of the verb bought.
00:39:17Now, for whom or to whom did he buy the bouquet?
00:39:21Well, he bought the bouquet for Donna.
00:39:24And by simply inserting the word Donna there in between the verb and the direct object,
00:39:29we know that Donna is serving as the indirect object.
00:39:33Donna tells us for whom Stuart bought the bouquet.
00:39:38So, Donna is the noun which serves as the indirect object in this sentence.
00:39:42Both of the examples we've looked at so far happen to use nouns as indirect objects.
00:39:48But a pronoun could be used equally well.
00:39:51So that, for example, that same sentence could read,
00:39:54Stuart bought her a bouquet of flowers.
00:39:57In this case, the pronoun her would substitute for Donna,
00:40:01and it would also act as the indirect object.
00:40:04An indirect object would always be a noun or a pronoun,
00:40:07but it could be either one.
00:40:10Notice that an indirect object is not the object of a preposition.
00:40:15We've said that the indirect object answers the question
00:40:18to what, to whom, for what, or for whom.
00:40:22Each of those phrases, to what, to whom, for what, for whom,
00:40:27is in fact a prepositional phrase,
00:40:29because to and for are prepositions.
00:40:32And the noun or pronoun that follows them
00:40:34makes up with the preposition a prepositional phrase.
00:40:38However, when you actually use the prepositional phrase in a sentence,
00:40:42then you no longer have an indirect object,
00:40:45even though the meaning is exactly the same.
00:40:48Grammatically, it would be considered something different
00:40:51and would be treated differently grammatically.
00:40:53Let me illustrate what I mean.
00:40:55Look at this sentence.
00:40:57Ray told his little sister a story.
00:41:00The verb is told. The subject is Ray.
00:41:03The direct object, that is, what did Ray tell, is story.
00:41:07That's what Ray told.
00:41:09Now, to whom did he tell the story?
00:41:11Answer, sister.
00:41:13His little sister, more specifically.
00:41:15So, sister is the indirect object
00:41:17and it's placed just where it is supposed to be,
00:41:20between the verb and the direct object.
00:41:22Now, here's another sentence that says the same thing,
00:41:25but doesn't contain an indirect object.
00:41:28Ray told a story to his little sister.
00:41:32In this sentence, we have the same verb, told,
00:41:35and the same subject, Ray.
00:41:36We even have the same direct object, story.
00:41:39That's what Ray told.
00:41:41Now, to whom did he tell the story?
00:41:43Well, he told his little sister.
00:41:44But in this case, little sister is not appearing
00:41:47as an indirect object.
00:41:49Notice that it's not placed between the verb
00:41:51and the direct object.
00:41:53Instead, it has been made part of a prepositional phrase
00:41:56and stuck on at the end of the sentence.
00:41:58To his little sister.
00:41:59The preposition to introduces the prepositional phrase.
00:42:03So, even though the meaning is the same,
00:42:05in this case, the grammatical structure is different.
00:42:09The indirect object has been taken out of its proper place
00:42:13between the verb and the direct object
00:42:16and has been tacked on at the end
00:42:18with a prepositional phrase.
00:42:22Either construction is perfectly clear
00:42:25and either one is perfectly correct.
00:42:27We simply want to differentiate them
00:42:29so that you'll understand the difference
00:42:31between an indirect object and the object
00:42:34of a prepositional phrase.
00:42:35The meaning is the same, but grammatically they are different
00:42:38and different rules would apply.
00:42:41Finally, an indirect object may be compound.
00:42:45Just as a direct object may include two or more things
00:42:49joined by a coordinating conjunction,
00:42:51the same can be true of an indirect object.
00:42:54Look at this sentence.
00:42:55Ms. Powell gave her mother and father a beautiful anniversary gift.
00:43:01What's the verb here?
00:43:02Gave.
00:43:04The subject?
00:43:05Ms. Powell.
00:43:06And what did Ms. Powell give?
00:43:08That is, what's the direct object?
00:43:10The answer?
00:43:11Gift.
00:43:11She gave a gift.
00:43:12Specifically, a beautiful anniversary gift.
00:43:15Now, to whom did she give the gift?
00:43:17That is, what's the indirect object of the verb gave?
00:43:22The answer is mother and father.
00:43:24There are two indirect objects in this sentence
00:43:27because there are two people to whom the gift was given.
00:43:31Those two words, mother and father,
00:43:34joined by the coordinating conjunction and
00:43:37go together to make up a compound indirect object in this sentence.
00:43:43Try your hand at the next exercise in your study guide,
00:43:47which will give you a chance to practice the skills and information
00:43:50we've just shared with you.
00:43:59In this exercise, we gave you several sentences and asked you to decide,
00:44:04for each one, whether or not an indirect object appears.
00:44:08Let's take a look at them one by one.
00:44:10First, Moesha wrote her grandmother a long letter thanking her for the birthday gift.
00:44:17It's usually a good way to start to look for the verb in a sentence like this
00:44:22and then work from the verb outward.
00:44:24What's the verb in this sentence?
00:44:26The answer is wrote.
00:44:27Wrote is the word that contains the action of the sentence.
00:44:31And who or what is the subject?
00:44:32Who did the writing?
00:44:33The answer, Moesha.
00:44:35Now, is there a direct object?
00:44:38That is, is there something in the sentence which tells us what Moesha wrote?
00:44:42Something that receives the action of the verb wrote?
00:44:45Yes, what Moesha wrote was a letter, specifically a long letter.
00:44:50So, the word letter is the direct object of the verb wrote.
00:44:54It tells us what Moesha wrote.
00:44:56Now, the tricky question.
00:44:59Is there an indirect object?
00:45:01That is, is there something in the sentence that tells us
00:45:04to what, to whom, for what, or for whom the letter was written?
00:45:09Well, the letter was written to Moesha's grandmother.
00:45:13And that noun, grandmother, appears in the sentence between the verb and the direct object.
00:45:19Therefore, it's in the right place for an indirect object.
00:45:23And that, in fact, is what it is.
00:45:25So, the noun, grandmother, is the indirect object here.
00:45:29It answers the question, to whom Moesha wrote the letter.
00:45:33And that's the answer for this first question.
00:45:36Next.
00:45:37After two days of debate, the town council awarded the road maintenance contract
00:45:42to a company owned by several local citizens.
00:45:46It's a long, complicated sentence, but let's break it down piece by piece.
00:45:50And I think you'll find it's not that difficult to understand.
00:45:54First, what's the verb?
00:45:55What's the action that's happening in this sentence?
00:45:58The answer is awarded.
00:46:00Who or what is the subject of the verb awarded?
00:46:03Who did the awarding?
00:46:04The answer, council, or more specifically, the town council.
00:46:08So, council is the subject.
00:46:11Now, is there a direct object?
00:46:12Is there a word that tells us what the town council awarded?
00:46:17Yes, the answer is contract.
00:46:19They awarded the contract.
00:46:21Or, more specifically, the road maintenance contract.
00:46:24Now, what about an indirect object?
00:46:27Is there a word or phrase that answers the question, to whom or to what the road maintenance contract was
00:46:34awarded?
00:46:34Well, the answer, in a way, is yes, the contract was awarded to a company owned by several local citizens.
00:46:41But this is not being used as an indirect object.
00:46:45Remember, an indirect object would have to be placed between the verb and the direct object.
00:46:50And that's not where the company is placed.
00:46:53The company, instead, is tacked on at the end of the sentence.
00:46:56Furthermore, notice that the company is mentioned in a prepositional phrase.
00:47:00And, as we saw a moment ago, an indirect object is never part of a prepositional phrase.
00:47:06So, in this case, company is not an indirect object.
00:47:11Instead, it's part of the prepositional phrase to a company.
00:47:15And, therefore, it is not grammatically speaking an indirect object.
00:47:19Even though it answers the same question and conveys much the same meaning.
00:47:25From a grammatical standpoint, it's not an indirect object.
00:47:30Let's look at our next example.
00:47:32Every evening, Richard and Emily cooked us a wonderful meal using fresh ingredients from the local farm stands.
00:47:39What's the verb here?
00:47:41The verb is cooked.
00:47:42That describes the action of the sentence.
00:47:44Who or what did the cooking?
00:47:46Richard and Emily, they are the subject of the verb cooked.
00:47:49And, it's, of course, a compound subject because there are two nouns there linked by the coordinating conjunction and.
00:47:57So, Richard and Emily cooked.
00:47:58Now, what did they cook?
00:48:00That is, what's the direct object of the verb?
00:48:03What they cooked is a wonderful meal.
00:48:05So, the noun meal is the direct object.
00:48:08Now, is there an indirect object?
00:48:11A word that appears between the verb and the direct object, which answers the question to what, to whom, for
00:48:19what, or for whom?
00:48:20Yes, the answer is us.
00:48:22Us, the pronoun us, answers the question for whom the wonderful meal was cooked.
00:48:28Lucky us.
00:48:29So, us, that pronoun is the indirect object.
00:48:33It answers the question for whom the meal was cooked.
00:48:37And, it appears between the verb and the direct object.
00:48:40So, us, that pronoun is the indirect object in this sentence.
00:48:45Next example.
00:48:47Each candidate prepared a written statement for the selection committee.
00:48:52What's the verb here?
00:48:53The verb is prepared.
00:48:55Who or what did the preparing?
00:48:58Each candidate.
00:48:59So, the verb is prepared.
00:49:01What's the direct object?
00:49:03That is, do we know who or what the candidates prepared?
00:49:06Well, they prepared a written statement.
00:49:08So, the noun statement is the direct object.
00:49:11Is there an indirect object, a word appearing between the verb and the direct object, which tells to whom or
00:49:19for whom the statement was prepared?
00:49:22The answer is no.
00:49:23There is no indirect object here.
00:49:25Once again, as in a previous example, we have an answer to the question for whom the statement was prepared,
00:49:33but it appears in the form of a prepositional phrase at the end of the sentence, rather than as a
00:49:38true indirect object.
00:49:40So, the selection committee is the object of the preposition for, and that's simply a prepositional phrase that gives more
00:49:49information about the action.
00:49:50It really doesn't serve grammatically as an indirect object.
00:49:54So, this sentence is another example of one that doesn't contain an indirect object.
00:50:00Our last example.
00:50:01Two minutes before game time, the coach gave her players a final reminder about the crucial importance of teamwork.
00:50:10What's the verb in this sentence?
00:50:12The verb is gave.
00:50:14Who or what gave?
00:50:15The coach gave.
00:50:17So, coach is the subject of the verb gave.
00:50:19Now, who or what did the coach give?
00:50:22What is the direct object of the verb gave?
00:50:25Well, what the coach gave was a reminder, specifically a final reminder.
00:50:30So, reminder is the direct object of the verb gave.
00:50:34Now, does the sentence contain an indirect object, a word that tells us to whom or for whom that reminder
00:50:40was given?
00:50:41Yes, the answer is her players.
00:50:44So, the noun players, which does appear between the verb and the direct object, is the indirect object in this
00:50:51sentence.
00:50:52It answers the question to whom the coach gave the reminder, and it appears in the proper location in the
00:50:58sentence,
00:50:59and therefore players is the indirect object in this sentence.
00:51:08Now, so far, we've looked at direct objects and indirect objects, and both of these are used in sentences that
00:51:15contain transitive verbs.
00:51:18Sentences that contain intransitive verbs don't have objects of any kind.
00:51:23The action of the sentence basically stops with the subject and the verb.
00:51:27Of course, modifying words and phrases may be added, but none of those constitutes an object of the action.
00:51:35Now, what about the third type of verb, that is the linking verb?
00:51:39Well, linking verbs are used with a different type of sentence complement known as subject complements.
00:51:45A subject complement is a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective that follows a linking verb and refers to, describes,
00:51:54or modifies the subject.
00:51:56Remember, earlier in this program, when we talked about how linking verbs work,
00:52:01we pointed out that linking verbs always connect the subject to something that follows the linking verb and which is
00:52:09being equated to the subject.
00:52:11We're being told that the subject is what follows the linking verb.
00:52:16Well, what follows the linking verb is a subject complement, and it will be either a noun or a pronoun
00:52:23or an adjective.
00:52:24Of course, other modifying words and phrases may be added, but when you're looking for the subject complement, you want
00:52:31to look for a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective following the linking verb, which is in some way being
00:52:38equated to or linked to the subject.
00:52:41Here are some examples.
00:52:44Virginia Woolf was a novelist.
00:52:47Was is the verb in this sentence, and it's a linking verb.
00:52:51As we've said many times, the most common linking verb is the verb to be, and was is a form
00:52:57of the verb to be.
00:52:58The subject of was is Virginia Woolf, a particular woman's name.
00:53:03So Virginia Woolf was, and what follows is the subject complement.
00:53:08The noun novelist describes or modifies the subject Virginia Woolf.
00:53:14It gives us more information about Virginia Woolf.
00:53:17It tells us what Virginia Woolf was, specifically a novelist.
00:53:22So was, the linking verb, is linking Virginia Woolf and novelist and telling us that the two things were equated
00:53:30to one another.
00:53:31Virginia Woolf was a novelist.
00:53:33The two things are one and the same.
00:53:35So this is a classic example of a linking verb being used to connect the subject to a noun, novelist,
00:53:42which is the subject complement.
00:53:45Here's a different example.
00:53:46The world's greatest bullfighter is he.
00:53:50What's the verb here?
00:53:52The verb is is.
00:53:54It's another form of the common linking verb to be.
00:53:57What's the subject of the verb is?
00:54:00The subject is bullfighter.
00:54:02That's the noun which is the subject of the verb, and the other words there give more information about bullfighter.
00:54:08Which specific bullfighter?
00:54:10The world's greatest bullfighter.
00:54:12Now what follows the linking verb is the subject complement.
00:54:15We said that a subject complement may be a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective.
00:54:20Here's an example of a pronoun being used as the subject complement.
00:54:26He.
00:54:27This is a rather unusual kind of subject complement.
00:54:31You probably don't hear a lot of sentences like this.
00:54:35And indeed, pronouns are the most unusual kind of subject complement.
00:54:39But we thought we ought to give you this sentence because we've made the point that a subject complement may
00:54:45be a noun or a pronoun or an adjective.
00:54:48So here's an example using a pronoun, he, as the subject complement.
00:54:53Notice that the pronoun he rather than him is correct.
00:54:57We have a separate program in this series which talks all about using pronouns correctly.
00:55:03And we'll talk about pronoun case in that program.
00:55:07And pronoun case is what differentiates he from him.
00:55:11When a pronoun is being used as a subject complement, you would use what's called the nominative case, which is
00:55:17he rather than him.
00:55:19And that's technically why he is correct.
00:55:22This kind of sentence doesn't come up very often.
00:55:25Perhaps the most common situation in which the use of a pronoun as a subject complement comes up would be
00:55:32when you knock on someone's door and they say,
00:55:35Who's there?
00:55:35And you respond, It is I.
00:55:37That would be a common use of the pronoun I as a subject complement.
00:55:42And because it's a subject complement, you want to use the nominative case I rather than me.
00:55:48So it is I is correct rather than it is me.
00:55:53It's a small matter, doesn't come up a lot, but we've covered it now and we're ready to move on
00:55:58to our third example of a subject complement.
00:56:01Sandra looked happy.
00:56:03Here the verb is looked.
00:56:06The subject is Sandra.
00:56:07And looked in this case is being used as a linking verb because what follows isn't receiving the action of
00:56:15the verb, but rather it's equating or being equated to the subject.
00:56:20What follows is the adjective happy, which describes, modifies, refers to, or gives more information about the subject.
00:56:29We're being told that Sandra was happy.
00:56:32So Sandra and happy are being equated to one another.
00:56:36We're being told those two things are one and the same.
00:56:39Sandra and happy.
00:56:40So looked is acting here as a linking verb.
00:56:44And what follows is an adjective being used as the subject complement.
00:56:48So once again, a subject complement follows a linking verb and it can be either a noun or a pronoun
00:56:55or an adjective.
00:56:57And just like the other forms of sentence complements that we've looked at in this program, a subject complement may
00:57:04be compound.
00:57:05In other words, there may be more than one word included in the subject complement.
00:57:10And the two or more words would normally be joined by a coordinating conjunction.
00:57:15For example, Gary is a singer and a dancer.
00:57:19Here we have the linking verb is linking the subject Gary to two words, which are nouns, which are the
00:57:26subject complements, singer, dancer.
00:57:30One more example.
00:57:31My favorite sports teams are the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Rockies.
00:57:36Here the linking verb is are.
00:57:40Teams is the subject.
00:57:42More specifically, my favorite sports teams.
00:57:44And there are two nouns that serve as subject complements.
00:57:49Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rockies.
00:57:51Another example of how the subject complement can be compound.
00:57:55Try your hand at the next exercise in your study guide, which will give you a chance to practice the
00:58:02skills and information we've just shared with you.
00:58:12In some of these sentences, but not all, there's a subject complement.
00:58:16Let's look at each one and see if we can locate the subject complement.
00:58:19First, the original nickname of the Houston Astros baseball team was the Colt 45s.
00:58:26First, look for the verb.
00:58:28The verb is was, and it is a linking verb.
00:58:31And that means we can probably expect to find a subject complement here.
00:58:35What's the subject of the linking verb was?
00:58:37The answer is nickname.
00:58:39We're being told in this sentence what the nickname was.
00:58:42Specifically, which nickname?
00:58:44The original nickname of the Houston Astros baseball team.
00:58:47But the noun nickname is the subject.
00:58:50And what's the subject complement?
00:58:52Where are we told what that nickname was?
00:58:55The answer is the Colt 45s.
00:58:58That's a noun that's being linked with nickname, and the two things are being equated.
00:59:02The nickname was Colt 45s.
00:59:05So Colt 45s is the answer.
00:59:07That's the subject complement in this sentence.
00:59:10Next example.
00:59:11Many investors use mutual funds as a way of buying shares in a wide range of companies.
00:59:17The verb here is use.
00:59:20Now, is use a verb of action or a verb of being?
00:59:23Well, the answer is it's a verb of action.
00:59:25It tells us something that the subject investors do rather than something that they are.
00:59:31So use is not a linking verb.
00:59:34In fact, it's a transitive verb and therefore will not be followed by a subject complement.
00:59:39What follows the transitive verb use is mutual funds, which is the direct object of the verb use.
00:59:47So this particular sentence doesn't contain a subject complement.
00:59:51Remember, only a linking verb will be followed by a subject complement.
00:59:57Next.
00:59:58After being reupholstered, the wing chair looked new.
01:00:02What's the verb here?
01:00:03The verb is looked.
01:00:05The subject is chair or wing chair.
01:00:08So the chair looked something.
01:00:11What did it look?
01:00:11It looked new.
01:00:13New is an adjective which describes or modifies or gives more information about the wing chair.
01:00:19So new, that adjective, is a subject complement.
01:00:24Looked is being used here as a linking verb.
01:00:26We're being told, in effect, what the wing chair was.
01:00:30It was new.
01:00:31New.
01:00:31The linking verb looked is being used almost as the equivalent of the verb to be.
01:00:37And so what follows?
01:00:39The adjective new is being used as a subject complement.
01:00:43Next.
01:00:44Ronald Reagan became the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States.
01:00:49What's the verb here?
01:00:51The verb is became.
01:00:54And the subject is Ronald Reagan.
01:00:56So we're being told in this sentence what Ronald Reagan became.
01:01:01Now, became in this sentence is, again, being used as a linking verb.
01:01:05What follows it is what Ronald Reagan was.
01:01:09Once again, the linking verb, even though it's not in this case a form of the verb to be,
01:01:15is being used almost as the equivalent of the verb to be.
01:01:19And what was Ronald Reagan?
01:01:21Well, he was the oldest person ever to serve as president of the United States.
01:01:26The noun person is the subject complement in this particular sentence.
01:01:31And all the other words that follow the verb there serve to give more information about exactly what kind of
01:01:37person.
01:01:37The oldest person and so on.
01:01:40So in this particular sentence, the linking verb is became and the subject complement is the noun person.
01:01:49Our final example.
01:01:50The hikers were exhausted and ravenous after their trek up Mount Washington.
01:01:56What's the verb in this sentence?
01:01:58Well, the verb is were.
01:02:00And were, of course, is a form of the verb to be, which is the most common and important of
01:02:05the linking verbs.
01:02:07The subject of the verb were is hikers.
01:02:10And what follows the verb were is what the hikers were.
01:02:15Therefore, it's the subject complement that gives us more information about the hikers.
01:02:20And the hikers were two things.
01:02:21They were exhausted and ravenous.
01:02:24Those are both adjectives which give more information about the hikers.
01:02:28So in this case, we have a compound subject complement.
01:02:32Two adjectives joined by the coordinating conjunction and.
01:02:37And both of those words go to give us more information about the subject of the linking verb were.
01:02:47Let's quickly review.
01:02:49In this program, we've talked about three kinds of sentence complements.
01:02:53Direct objects, indirect objects, and subject complements.
01:02:58Remember that direct objects and indirect objects are used only with transitive verbs,
01:03:04while subject complements are used only with linking verbs.
01:03:07Now let's step back for just a moment.
01:03:10We've seen now how complete sentences are constructed.
01:03:14There's a verb in the middle, a subject usually appearing before the verb,
01:03:18and then very often a sentence complement of some kind that comes after the verb.
01:03:24You might almost think of a sentence as a lever or a teeter-totter,
01:03:29something like a seesaw, with the verb as being the fulcrum, the balancing point in the middle.
01:03:35The subject usually comes before that, and the sentence complement, if there is one, comes after that.
01:03:41You now have the complete structure of what most typical English sentences look like,
01:03:47and all the other words and phrases that may be added on to the sentence serve to give more information
01:03:52about
01:03:53or to modify the subject or the verb or the sentence complement.
01:03:58So if you understand how these three major parts of a sentence work together,
01:04:03and how different parts of speech can be used to modify or give more information about them,
01:04:08you'll understand how virtually every English sentence is constructed,
01:04:12and that will make it much easier for you to create your own English sentences
01:04:17that are both grammatically correct and express your ideas clearly.
01:04:21I hope you found this program useful.
01:04:24Thank you for watching, and I look forward to seeing you on other programs in this series.