Subject,
Verb, Complement & Modifier
1.1 SUBJECT
Subject complement is a noun ,
pronoun , adjective , or another construction (acting as a noun or adjective )
following verbs of being or linking verb and serves to explain or refer to the
subject of the sentence .
Subject complement is divided into
three , namely : predicate adjective ( subjects connected with the adjective )
, predicate noun ( subject associated with the noun ) , and predicate pronoun (
subject connected with the pronoun ) .
For example:
* He is a really nice guy.
* “He” is the subject of the
sentence, controlling the verb and the complement.
* My dog attacked the burglar.
* “My dog” is the subject,
controlling the verb and the rest of the sentence.
* David plays the piano
* The subject “David” performs the
action of “playing the piano”.
* The police interviewed all the
witnesses.
* The subject the police performs
the action of interviewing all the witnesses.
To determine the subject of a
sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing “who?” or
“what?” before it. Having identified the Subject, we can see that the remainder
of the sentence tells us what the Subject does or did. We refer to this string
as the “predicate” of the sentence.
For example:
* Who plays the piano?
=> “David” ( = Subject)
=> “plays the piano” ( =
predicate) tells us what David does.
* Who interviewed all the witnesses?
=> “The police” (= Subject)
=> “interviewed all the
witnesses” ( = predicate) tell us what the police did.
Subjects can either be “simple”,
“compound” or “complex”
- Simple Subject
Composed of a single pronoun, noun
or noun phrase.
- Complex Subject
A complex subject consists of a noun
phrase and any words, phrases, or clauses that modify it.
For example:
* The man who had followed us inside
walked over to the telephone.
=> central noun: man
=> complex subject: the man who
had followed us inside
* The superior performance of La
Traviata pleased the wealthy audience.
=> central noun: performance
=> complex subject: the superior
performance of La Traviata
- Compound Subject
A compound subject consists of two
or more noun phrases (and their modifiers if any) joined together with a
coordinating conjunction.
For example:
* The man and the woman walked over
to the telephone.
=> The compound subject here is
the whole phrase, “the man and the woman.”
* Neither the superior performance
of La Traviata nor the excellent wine at intermission pleased the wealthy
audience.
=> Again, the whole phrase,
“neither the superior performance of La Traviata nor the excellent wine at
intermission,” is the subject. The phrase answers the question, “What pleased
the wealthy audience?”
1.2 VERB
verb ( verb ) is a function word to
indicate the action of the subject , showing events or circumstances . Verb is
one of the eight parts of speech .
English verbs are not always simple
shape ( one word ) , but may be the result of a combination of phrases into
phrasal verbs with particle ( get in , make-up , read over ) .
For example:
* Paul rides a bicycle.
* Here, the verb rides certainly denotes an action which Paul performs – the action of riding a bicycle.
* We buy some books to learn English verbs.
* In this example, the action word is “to buy”. It tells us that the subject “we”, that is the person who performs the action of the verb is “buying some books”.
* Here, the verb rides certainly denotes an action which Paul performs – the action of riding a bicycle.
* We buy some books to learn English verbs.
* In this example, the action word is “to buy”. It tells us that the subject “we”, that is the person who performs the action of the verb is “buying some books”.
The verb tense shows the time of the
action or state. Aspect shows whether the action or state is completed or not.
Voice is used to show relationships between the action and the people affected
by it. Mood shows the attitude of the speaker about the verb, whether it is a
declaration or an order. Verbs can be affected by person and number to show
agreement with the subject.
Most statements in speech and
writing have a main verb. These verbs are expressed in “tenses” which place
everything in a point in time.
Verbs are conjugated (inflected) to
reflect how they are used. There are two general areas in which conjugation
occurs; for person and for tense.
Conjugation for tense
Conjugation for tense is carried out on all verbs. All conjugations start with the infinitive form of the verb.
The infinitive is simply the to form of the verb For example, to begin.
The present participle form (the -ing form), is formed by adding ing to the bare infinitive. For example, to begin – beginning.
There are two other forms that the verb can take, depending on the tense type and time, the simple past form and the past participle.
Conjugation for tense is carried out on all verbs. All conjugations start with the infinitive form of the verb.
The infinitive is simply the to form of the verb For example, to begin.
The present participle form (the -ing form), is formed by adding ing to the bare infinitive. For example, to begin – beginning.
There are two other forms that the verb can take, depending on the tense type and time, the simple past form and the past participle.
The form of the verb or its tense
can tell when events take place.
For example, the verb kiss:
For example, the verb kiss:
Present Simple: kiss/kisses
Past Simple: kissed
Future Simple: will kiss
Present Perfect: has/have kissed
Past Perfect: had kissed
Future Perfect: will have kissed
Present Continuous (Progressive): is/am/are kissing
Past Continuous (Progressive): was kissing
Future Continuous (Progressive): will be kissing
Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive): has/have been kissing
Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive): had been kissing
Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive): will have been kissing
Past Simple: kissed
Future Simple: will kiss
Present Perfect: has/have kissed
Past Perfect: had kissed
Future Perfect: will have kissed
Present Continuous (Progressive): is/am/are kissing
Past Continuous (Progressive): was kissing
Future Continuous (Progressive): will be kissing
Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive): has/have been kissing
Past Perfect Continuous (Progressive): had been kissing
Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive): will have been kissing
Conjugation for person
Conjugation for person occurs when the verb changes form, depending on whether it is governed by a first, second, or third person subject. This gives three conjugations for any verb depending on who is acting as the subject of the verb. For example: we have I begin, you begin , and he begins. Note that only the third conjunction really shows a difference.
Conjugation for person occurs when the verb changes form, depending on whether it is governed by a first, second, or third person subject. This gives three conjugations for any verb depending on who is acting as the subject of the verb. For example: we have I begin, you begin , and he begins. Note that only the third conjunction really shows a difference.
In English, we distinguish between
regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs are those ones which form their past
simple and past participle just by adding “-ed” to the base of the verb. The
rest are irregular.
Examples:
Examples:
* Dracula bites his victims on the
neck.
* In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs.
* She travels to work by train.
* We walked five miles to a garage.
* In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs.
* She travels to work by train.
* We walked five miles to a garage.
1.3 COMPLEMENT
A complement is the part
of a Sentence that comes after the VERB and is needed to make the sentence
complete. The following are the most important types of complement used in
English:
- SUBJECT COMPLEMENT
Eg: He’s a surveyor. (The Subject is completed by the complement to the verb. This is a Copula
Verb.
b. OBJECT COMPLEMEN
Eg: She sent him the fax. (The setence is completed by telling us what she sent to him.)
c. ADJECTIVAL COMPLEMENT
Eg: They’ll be happy. (The sentence is completed by the Adjective; this could be extended further,
they’ll be happy to see us, etc..)
d. PREPOSITIONAL COMPLEMENT
Eg: They talked about what needed doing. (The setence is completed by the Phrase linked to
the verb by the Preposition.)
1.4 MODIFIER
tells the time, place or manner of
the action. Very often it’s a prepositional phrase. Prepotional phrase is a
group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with a noun.
Note :
A modifier of time usually comes last if more than one modifier is present.
Example of prepositional phrases :
In the morning, at university, on the table
A modifier can also be an adverb or an adverbial phrase :
Last night, hurriedly, next year, outdoors, yesterday
Example : John bought a book at the bookstore
(modifier place)
Jill was swimming in the pool yesterday
(modifier of place)(modifier of time)
Note :
The modifier normally follows the complement, but not always. However, the modifier, especially when it’s a prepositional phrase, usually can’t separate the verb and the complement.
Example : She drove the car on the street
(verb) (complement)
Note :
A modifier of time usually comes last if more than one modifier is present.
Example of prepositional phrases :
In the morning, at university, on the table
A modifier can also be an adverb or an adverbial phrase :
Last night, hurriedly, next year, outdoors, yesterday
Example : John bought a book at the bookstore
(modifier place)
Jill was swimming in the pool yesterday
(modifier of place)(modifier of time)
Note :
The modifier normally follows the complement, but not always. However, the modifier, especially when it’s a prepositional phrase, usually can’t separate the verb and the complement.
Example : She drove the car on the street
(verb) (complement)
EXAMPLE :
- George is cooking dinner tonight
Subject
Verb Phrase Complement
Modifier of Time
- Henry and Marcia have visited the president
Subject
Verb Phrase
Complement
- We can eat lunch in this restaurant today
Subject
Verb Complement Modifier
of Place Modifier of Time
- Pat should have bought gasoline yesterday
Subject Verb
Phrase Complement Modifier
of Time
- Tress grow
Subject
Verb
- It was raining at seven o’clock this morning
Subject
Verb Phrase Modifier of
Time
- She opened a checking account at the bank last week
Subject
Verb Complement Modifier
of Place Modifier of Time
- Harry is washing dishes right now
Subject
Verb Phrase Complement
Modifier of Time
- She opened her book
Subject
Verb Complement
- Paul, William and Mary were watching television a few minutes ago
Subject Verb
Phrase Complement Modifier
of Time
SUMBER :
