Subject, Verb, Complement & Modifier

To begin this section, we will, first of all, examine the two most vital parts of the clause structure and then move on to the other elements. Again, it will be useful to use a few examples to illustrate the grammatical ideas.

• He sneezed.
• Accidents happen.
• Speed kills.
• Yvonne left.
• Snakes crawl. 

These clauses are all simple sentences consisting of only two words each. The first element in each sentence is called the Subject, while the second is the Verb. (Notice that I am using a capital letter here to talk about the verb as a clause element as opposed to the verb as a word class.) The Subject and the Verb are the minimum requirements for constructing a basic English clause (with the exception of directives like sit! and go!) and appear in that order in the vast majority of positive and negative statements. Although single words have been used to fill the Subject and Verb 'slots' in the examples above, much more complicated phrases can, of course, be made:  

Subject As noted earlier, the subject of a positive or negative statement is usually the first element of a clause or sentence. The Subjects in the following sentences are in bold and the type of Subject is given in brackets: The tall, dark stranger was singing. (noun phrase) She stood still.(pronoun) To err is human. (verb) What he told me turned out to be a lie. (subordinate clause) By far the most commonly used types of Subject are the noun phrase and the pronoun (I is the most frequently occurring word in the spoken language), while the verb - more correctly the verb infinitive with to - is seldom used in modern English. A subordinate clause as Subject is quite common both in speech and writing and usually begins with what(ever)..., the fact that... or that...: The fact that he likes skiing doesn't interest me at all. That Jane failed her exam is a great disappointment. Whatever I hear about him surprises me. The way to test whether a clause is functioning as the Subject is to try replacing it with a simpler grammatical element such as a pronoun or basic noun phrase and then checking the grammaticality of the clause. Applying this test to the sentences above would give: It doesn't interest me at all. It is a great disappointment. It surprises me. ... all of which are grammatically acceptable. Notice that, although the Subject may consist of several words, a long phrase or even a subordinate clause, there can only be one grammatical Subject per clause. Up to this point we have been discussing only positive and negative statements where the Subject is the first element of the clause. However, there is one very common situation where this word order is not used - namely, in questions. Here the Subject and part of the verb phrase constituting the Verb element are inverted. From some of the examples above we get: Was the tall, dark stranger singing? Has the retail prices index been rising? Doesn't shouting and screaming in arguments help? Weren't the newly-arrived refugees able to understand? Couldn't the poor grasshopper sleep? The Verb has a pivotal role in sentence structure. As with the Subject, the Verb can, and often does, consist of more than one word, but is treated as a single unit expressing not only the basic meaning of the main word (run, decide, imitate etc.), but also, among other things, the time that the action took place, whether the action is finished or not and the certainty of the action. In the examples below, the Verb is in bold: The cat sleeps all day. He is talking rubbish. We will be seeing each other next week. The wallet might have been lost at the party. So, although there may be up to four, possibly even five words in the verb phrase of a clause, they are usually analysed as one Verb as an element of the clause. To demonstrate the importance of the Verb in a clause, try omitting the verb phrases from the examples above. Having done that, now omit each of the other elements in turn and see how the sense of the clause is affected. The choice of the verb itself will often largely dictate what other elements may or may not be used in the clause. Verbs like yawn, sleep and scratch would seem to require an animate Subject, while laugh, talk and read usually need human Subjects (although the actions of animals are sometimes described in the same terms). Some verbs need only a Subject to make a complete clause (he yawned, the cat is sleeping, Barry jumped), while others appear to need some more elements - *he hit..., *they like..., *cars cost...; we will look at these other elements in the next section.  =============================================================== VERBS Definition: Verbs are a class of words used to show the performance of an action (do, throw, run), existence (be), possession (have), or state (know, love) of a subject. To put it simply a verb shows what something or someone does.

One common classification of the main types of verb is given below with examples: Activity: play, speak, run, telephone, bathe, organise, read, raise, look at, listen to, refuse, scratch. The vast majority of verbs are included in this class and are what we normally understand an 'action' word to be. Process: ripen, change, strengthen, grow, deteriorate, become, die, go, come, fall. This class of verbs is used to indicate a change from one state to another. Sensation: hurt, ache, sting, smart, itch. This is a small class of verbs that are used to refer to bodily sensations. Momentary: knock, beat, tap, nod, hop, jump. These verbs, although closely related to the first category, have a shorter duration of action. Cognition: know, remember, perceive, prefer, want, forget, understand. These verbs have less to do with an overt action since they involve mental or cognitive processes. Perception: see, smell, feel, taste, hear. This small class of verbs is closely linked with verbs of cognition, but centre on the senses rather than cerebral activity. Relational: be, consist of, own, have, seem, resemble, appear, sound, look (good), belong to. This category of verbs is used to connect two closely related concepts, usually either through equivalence or possession. These seven categories cover, by and large, the main verb types in English and also constitute the sub-classes of a broader grammatical division of verbs into dynamic verbs and stative verbs. In the list above, categories 1 to 4 consist of dynamic verbs, while 5 to 7 contain stative verbs. Let's look at a few examples to illustrate what is meant by the dynamic/stative contrast. Study the following pairs of sentences: 1. I stay with friends every year. 2. I am staying with friends at the moment. 3. He eats sandwiches for lunch. 4. He is eating a sandwich. 5. We listen to Radio 1 in the morning. 6. We are listening to Radio 1. All of the sentences contain dynamic verbs taken from category 1 in the list above. The odd numbered sentences are all examples of the Present Simple tense which, in these cases, indicates an activity that occurs with regular frequency, namely every year, every lunchtime, and every morning. The even numbered sentences, however, limit the time of the activity to the moment of speaking and are therefore temporary in nature. The verbs are, therefore in the Present Continuous tense. Dynamic verbs, then, can be found in both simple and continuous tenses. Now look at the following pairs of sentences which contain stative verbs taken from categories 5 to 7: I want to go home. *I am wanting to go home. We all love chocolate. *We are all loving chocolate. This bag belongs to me. *This bag is belonging to me. The first sentence of each pair, with the Present Simple tense is grammatically acceptable, but the second sentence of each pair is not. As a general rule, then, stative verbs are not found with the continuous tenses, but there are specific times when most of the stative verbs can be used with a continuous tense. However, these situations are limited to specific uses or entail a change in the basic meaning of the verb, for example: I think you're right and I'm thinking of you. In the first example I am giving you my opinion and so the verb refers to cognition, whereas in the second, the thinking is much more akin to an activity. You will probably find that this kind of distinction can be made for most of those stative verbs that can be used with both simple and continuous tenses. How is the verb incorporated into larger grammatical structures, and how is its meaning and function extended? The Verb Phrase The following sentences help to illustrate the possible range of structures in the English verb phrase (in bold). I play the piano. The family left early. He is talking rubbish. Sarah can sing opera. We used to have kippers for breakfast. I have been painting the lounge. We might be seeing each other next week. You should have been watching the baby. The wallet might have been lost at the party. The report must have been being prepared by the boss. From these examples we can see that there may be up to four, possibly even five, separate words in the verb phrase of a clause and they all have a particular part to play in the overall meaning. So, what are the individual elements of the verb phrase and how does each of them contribute to the meaning? Let's first analyse some of the sentences above as an illustration:  You will notice that the various parts of the verb phrase have been divided into two main categories: auxiliary verbs and main verb. The former has been further sub-divided into modal auxiliary and primary auxiliary. You may also have noticed that there are a number of different possible configurations of these elements; e.g. main verb only, modal auxiliary plus main verb, one primary auxiliary plus main verb, two primary auxiliaries plus main verb and so on. However, the only indispensable element of the verb phrase is the main verb, because it is here that the basic, unchanging meaning of the verb phrase lies.  ================================================================ Complement Complement can often be confused with the Object. While the Subject and Object of a clause, in the vast majority of cases, refer to different entities, the Complement gives more information about either the Subject or the Object. As with the Subject and Object elements, there is only one grouping or phrase which is considered to be the Complement of a clause. The Subject Complement Let's begin by looking at some pairs of sentences where this information centres on the Subject. Bill hit Harry. Bill is a policeman. The camel carried the load. The camel smells awful. A car hit the lamp post. A car was what she wanted for her birthday. So, in the preceding examples the first sentence of each pair contains an Object - Harry, the load, the lamp post. These are clearly not the same entities as the Subjects of the sentences. However, the same cannot be said for the second sentence of each pair where there is a strong connection between the Subjects and the phrases a policeman, awful and what she wanted for her birthday. These phrases act to identify the Subject more precisely. These are known as Complements; more specifically they are subject complements because they define the Subjects of the clauses, in this case Bill, the camel and a car. In most sentences where the Complement defines the Subject, you will find a particular type of verb being used. The most usual is the verb be and its forms (e.g. am, are, was, have been) followed by a noun phrase or an adjective phrase, often as a single word. In the instances above, a policeman is a noun phrase and awful is an adjective phrase. Other examples are: Noun phrase as Subject Complement: Love is a drug. This is her pen. He is the father of three. Time is the great healer. Those animals were very rare Siberian tigers. The Earth is 150 million kilometres from the Sun. Adjective phrase as Subject Complement: The weather is hot. All the passengers were Russian. The little cottage was nice and cosy. Her teeth were pearly white. The argument became more heated. The weather gradually got hotter and hotter. In all of these cases, the phrases after is, was and were define the Subject. You should notice that, although two of the Complements in the first set of examples contain adjectives (great, very rare Siberian), these are still treated as noun phrases because the main words in the groups are themselves nouns (healer, tigers). Earlier I commented that a particular type of verb is often used in clauses with a subject Complement and that verb is usually be. However, there is a small number of other verbs either closely connected with be or to do with sensing that frequently occur in this type of clause. A short list with examples might include: Be type: seem, appear, become, turn out, grow, remain The sky seems clearer today. He turned out to be a bad influence. His client became more and more angry. Sense type: look, sound, feel, taste, smell (all followed by like with a noun) Her voice sounds lovely. That sounds like heaven. The tea tastes foul. There is still one type of subject Complement that we haven't looked at yet - this is the subordinate clause. The example from the original sentences is: A car was what she wanted for her birthday. Here a car is the Subject, the Verb is was and the Complement defining the Subject is what she wanted for her birthday, which is a clause since it has its own Subject (she) and Verb (wanted). Other examples of clauses used as subject Complements are: Justice is what we're looking for. The first thing I did was open all the windows. The remaining problem is where to find the money. Our only option is to run away. The Object Complement In all the instances in the previous section the Complement gave additional information about the Subject of the clause. Additional information can similarly be given about the Object. Look at the examples below: Everyone thought him an idiot. The accusation made me livid. The whole town wanted the outlaw dead. The board has made him manager. I find it difficult to believe. Here, the phrases in bold are giving extra information about the Objects of the clauses which are him, me, the outlaw, him, it. The object Complement usually follows the Object of the clause as in all the examples above and the choice of verb is not so restricted as it is with the subject Complement clauses.  ================================================================ 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) ================================================================ Exercise Identify the subject, verb, complement, and modifier in each of the following sentence. 1. Henry and Marcia have visited the president 2. We eat lunch in this restaurant today 3. Pat should have bought gasoline yesterday 4. Trees grows 5. It was raining at seven o'clock this morning 6. She buy pineaple in the market 7. They were watching tv a few minutes ago *Answer* 1. Henry and Marcia/ have visited/ the president (subject) (verb phrase) (complement) 2. We /eat/ lunch /in this restaurant /today (subject) (verb phrase) (complement) (modifier of place)(modifier of time) 3. Pat /should have bought /gasoline /yesterday (subject) (verb phrase) (complement) (modifier of time) 4. Trees /grows (subject) (verb phrase) 5. It/ was raining /at seven o'clock this morning (subject) (verb phrase) (modifier of time) 6. She /buy /pineaple /in the market (subject) (verb phrase) (complement) (modifier of place) 7. They /were watching /tv /a few minutes ago (subject) (verb phrase) (complement) (modifier of time)