Subject complement
Encyclopedia
In grammar
, a subject complement is a phrase
or clause
that follows a linking verb (copula) and that complements (completes) the subject
of the sentence
by either (1) renaming it or (2) describing it. In the former case, a renaming noun phrase
such as a noun
or pronoun
is called a predicate
nominative. An adjective
following the copula and describing the subject is called a predicate adjective. In either case the predicate complement in effect mirrors the subject.
Subject complements are used only with a class of verbs called linking verbs or copulative verbs, of which "to be" is the most common. Since copulas are stative verb
s, subject complements are not affected by any action of the verb.
Here are some examples of sentences with subject complements:
Here "was" is a linking verb (an inflected form
of "to be") that equates the predicate nominative phrase "a tranquil pool", with head
noun "pool", to the subject "the lake" (with head noun "lake").
In this example "tranquil" is a predicate adjective linked through the verb "is" (another inflected form of "to be") to the subject "the lake".
An example in which the subject complement is a dependent clause is:
Joseph Priestley justified the colloquial usage on the grounds of good writers using it often:
It can be inferred that the colloquial preference for "it is me" could be receiving such widespread use due to rejecting the model of Latin, where the complement of the copula is in the nominative case
.
Fiction writers have occasionally pointed out the colloquialisms of their characters in an authorial comment. In "The Curse of the Golden Cross," for example, G. K. Chesterton
writes, "'He may be me,' said Father Brown
, with cheerful contempt for grammar." And in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
, C. S. Lewis
writes, "'Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, Sons and Daughters of Adam. It's all right! It isn't Her!' This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited."
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, a subject complement is a phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
or clause
Clause
In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...
that follows a linking verb (copula) and that complements (completes) the subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
of the sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
by either (1) renaming it or (2) describing it. In the former case, a renaming noun phrase
Noun phrase
In grammar, a noun phrase, nominal phrase, or nominal group is a phrase based on a noun, pronoun, or other noun-like word optionally accompanied by modifiers such as adjectives....
such as a noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
or pronoun
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
is called a predicate
Predicate (grammar)
There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
nominative. An adjective
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
following the copula and describing the subject is called a predicate adjective. In either case the predicate complement in effect mirrors the subject.
Subject complements are used only with a class of verbs called linking verbs or copulative verbs, of which "to be" is the most common. Since copulas are stative verb
Stative verb
A stative verb is one that asserts that one of its arguments has a particular property . Statives differ from other aspectual classes of verbs in that they are static; that is, they have undefined duration...
s, subject complements are not affected by any action of the verb.
Here are some examples of sentences with subject complements:
- The lake was a tranquil pool.
Here "was" is a linking verb (an inflected form
Inflection
In grammar, inflection or inflexion is the modification of a word to express different grammatical categories such as tense, grammatical mood, grammatical voice, aspect, person, number, gender and case...
of "to be") that equates the predicate nominative phrase "a tranquil pool", with head
Head (linguistics)
In linguistics, the head is the word that determines the syntactic type of the phrase of which it is a member, or analogously the stem that determines the semantic category of a compound of which it is a component. The other elements modify the head....
noun "pool", to the subject "the lake" (with head noun "lake").
- The lake is tranquil.
In this example "tranquil" is a predicate adjective linked through the verb "is" (another inflected form of "to be") to the subject "the lake".
An example in which the subject complement is a dependent clause is:
- That is what my point is.
Grammatical case of subject complement pronouns
While no strong arguments other than widespread acceptance are made for the use of colloquial "it is me" ("it is him", "he is taller than him", etc) in written speech in Joseph Priestley's works, other grammarians, among whom were Baker (1770), Campbell (1776), and Lindley Murray (1795), give the reason why the first person pronoun must be "I" rather than "me": it is a nominative that is equivalent to the subject, and as such they prove that it must always be in the nominative (subjective) case. These three partisans of the nominative case, Baker, Campbell, and Murray, were the commentators whose preachments were accepted as gospel by the schoolmasters.Joseph Priestley justified the colloquial usage on the grounds of good writers using it often:
All our grammarians say, that the nominative cases pronouns ought to follow the verb substantive as well as precede it; yet any familiar forms of speech, and example of some of our best writers, would lead us to make a contrary rule; or, at least, would leave us at liberty to adopt which we liked best.
It can be inferred that the colloquial preference for "it is me" could be receiving such widespread use due to rejecting the model of Latin, where the complement of the copula is in the nominative case
Nominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
.
Fiction writers have occasionally pointed out the colloquialisms of their characters in an authorial comment. In "The Curse of the Golden Cross," for example, G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
writes, "'He may be me,' said Father Brown
Father Brown
Father Brown is a fictional character created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. Chesterton based the character on Father John O'Connor , a parish priest in Bradford who was involved in Chesterton's conversion to Catholicism in 1922...
, with cheerful contempt for grammar." And in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
, C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
writes, "'Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, Sons and Daughters of Adam. It's all right! It isn't Her!' This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited."
Other languages
Some languages do not use predicate adjectives with a linking verb; instead, adjectives can become stative verbs that replace the copula. For example, in Mandarin Chinese "It is red" is rendered as tā hóng, which translates literally as "It red". However, Mandarin retains the copula when it is followed by a predicate nominative.See also
- CleftingCleftingA cleft sentence is a complex sentence that has a meaning that could be expressed by a simple sentence. Clefts typically put a particular constituent into focus...
- Copula (linguistics)
- Disjunctive pronoun
- Disputed English grammarDisputed English grammarDisputed English grammar denotes disagreement about whether given constructions constitute correct English. Such disagreements are often quite impassioned...
- English personal pronounsEnglish personal pronounsThe personal pronouns in the English language can have various forms according to gender, number, person, and case. Modern English is a language with very little noun or adjective inflection, to the point where some authors describe it as analytic, but the Modern English system of personal pronouns...
- Predicate (grammar)Predicate (grammar)There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...
- Predicative (adjectival or nominal)Predicative (adjectival or nominal)In grammar, a predicative is an element of the predicate of a sentence that supplements the subject or object by means of the verb. A predicative may be nominal or adjectival . If the complement after a linking verb is a noun or a pronoun, it is called a predicate nominative...