English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Overview of basic verb complement terminology
10 Simple Verb Complements
Part 2 Verb Phrases
In this chapter we cover basic verb complement terminology and examine simple complements— verbs with no complements (a zero complement) or only a single complement.
Overview of basic verb complement terminology.
Verb complements are conventionally classified according to the following hierarchy:
The distinction between action verb and linking verb is determined solely by the nature of the subject-verb-complement relationship. If the complement describes the subject, the verb is a linking verb. If the complement does not describe the subject, then it is an action verb. By far the most common linking verb is be. Here are two examples of be used as a linking verb:
Mary’s new car is a Prius.
Mary’s new car is red.
The term linking verb refers to the fact that linking verbs connect (link) the words following the linking verb back to the subject. In the two examples above, is links the noun phrase a Prius and the adjective red back to the subject (Mary’s car). Clearly, the subject, Mary’s car, is performing no action in these two examples. The subject in linking-verb sentences is the topic of the sentence rather than the doer of any action.
In this book, we will use the term complement to refer collectively to any and all grammatical structures that are required by a verb to make a grammatically complete sentence. For example, consider the complement in the following sentence:
Thomas put his car in the garage.
This complement contains two components: an object noun phrase (his car) and an adverb expression of place (in the garage). Both of these components are required by the verb put to make a grammatical sentence. If we delete either component, the sentence becomes ungrammatical:
X Thomas put his car.
X Thomas put in the garage.
In other words, when we use the verb put, we have to put something somewhere. Consequently, we would describe the complement of put as noun phrase + adverb of place.
Linking verbs have a special terminology for their complements. Consider again our previous examples:
Mary’s new car is a Prius.
Mary’s new car is red.
The noun phrase a Prius is called a predicate nominative, and the adjective red is called a predicate adjective. Note that the term object is not used for noun phrases that are the complements of linking verbs.
Since almost all verbs are classified as action verbs, it is hard to find any very helpful definition of action verbs except negatively: action verbs are those verbs that are not linking verbs. While many action verbs do indeed express action as their name suggests, some so-called action verbs express no action at all. For example, compare the following pair of sentences:
Jackson bought a new car.
Jackson has a new car.
In the first sentence, Jackson is clearly the performer or doer of an action: he has engaged in the action of buying a new car. In the second sentence, however, Jackson is not engaged in any action at all. He is not doing anything. The sentence is more a statement about Jackson rather than an expression of what Jackson is doing. Nevertheless, both verbs are classified as “action” verbs since they are not linking verbs.
The second distinction in verb terminology is between transitive and intransitive verbs. (This terminology is normally applied only to action verbs. We do not use these terms in reference to linking verbs.) The term transitive is derived from a Latin word meaning “to go across.” A transitive verb “goes across” to an object. In other words, a transitive verb controls or “takes” an object. An intransitive verb does not control or take an object. For example, compare the following sentences:
Transitive: The cat killed the birds.
Intransitive: The birds died.
The verb kill is a transitive verb that requires an object. That is, when we kill, we have to kill something. Leaving off the object would make the transitive verb kill ungrammatical (in the way that the verb is normally used):
X The cat killed.
The verb die is an intransitive verb that does not take an object. As this pair of examples shows, transitive verbs typically describe what a subject is doing to an object (killing it in the case of our example), while intransitive verbs typically describe what is happening to the subject (dying in the case of our example).
When you look up a verb in the dictionary, you will notice a little vi or vt right after the pronunciation guide and the origin of the word but before the definitions begin. vi means that the verb is intransitive, and vt means that the verb is transitive. It is striking that most verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively. If a verb is used both ways, the dictionary will give all the definitions for the most common use first (either vi or vt) and then give a second set of definitions associated with the other use.
This chapter and the next one are organized according to the number of complements that verbs require. In this chapter we will address the verbs that take no complements at all (zerocomplement verbs) and verbs that take only a single complement. The following chapter will address verbs that take multiple complements.