plural of complement
present third singular of complement
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◊ GRAMMAR
A complement is an adjective or noun group which comes after a link verb such as `be', and gives more information about the subject of the clause.
The children seemed frightened.
He is a geologist.
There are also complements which describe the object of a clause: see the section below on object complements.
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◊ adjectives as complements
Adjectives can be used as complements after the following link verbs:
appear, be, become, come, feel, get, go, grow, keep, look, pass, prove, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, taste, turn
We were very happy.
The other child looked neglected.
Their hall was larger than his whole flat.
◊ WARNING
You do not use an adverb after a link verb. For example, you say `We felt very happy', not `We felt very happily'.
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`Come', `go', and `turn' are used with a restricted range of adjectives. For more information on this, and on the use of `get' and `grow', see entry at ↑ become.
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◊ noun groups as complements
Noun groups can be used as complements after the following link verbs:
be, become, comprise, constitute, feel, form, look, make, prove, remain, represent, seem, sound
He always seemed a controlled sort of man.
He'll make a good president.
I feel a bit of a fraud.
Note that when you are saying what someone's job is, you use `a' or `an'. You do not just use the noun. For example, you say `She's a journalist'. You do not say `She's journalist'.
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◊ pronouns as complements
Pronouns are sometimes used as complements to indicate identity or to describe something.
It's me again.
This one is yours.
You're someone who does what she wants.
For information on the use of `to'-infinitives after complements, as in `It's an easy mistake to make', see entry at ↑ 'To'-infinitive clauses.
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◊ other verbs with complements
A small number of verbs which refer to actions can be followed by complements. For example, instead of saying `He returned. He had not been harmed', you can say `He returned unharmed'.
George stood motionless for at least a minute.
I used to lie awake watching the rain seep through the roof.
He died young.
The following verbs can be used with a complement like this:
be born, die, emerge, escape, hang, lie, return, sit, stand, survive
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◊ object complements
Some transitive verbs have a complement after their object when they are used with a particular meaning. This complement describes the object, and is often called the object complement.
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The following transitive verbs are used with an adjective as object complement:
believe, call, certify, consider, declare, eat, find, hold, judge, keep, label, leave, like, make, prefer, presume, pronounce, prove, reckon, render, serve, term, think, want
Willie's jokes made her uneasy.
He had proved them all wrong.
Do you want it white or black?
Some verbs are used with a very restricted range of object complements:
to drive someone crazy/mad, to burn someone alive, to get someone drunk/pregnant, to knock someone unconscious, to paint something red, blue, etc, to pat something dry, to pick something clean, to plane something flat/smooth, to rub something dry/smooth, to send someone mad, to shoot someone dead, to sweep something clean, to turn something white, black, etc, to wipe something clean/dry
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The following transitive verbs are used with a noun group as object complement:
appoint, believe, brand, call, consider, crown, declare, designate, elect, find, hold, judge, label, make, presume, proclaim, prove, reckon, term, think
They consider him an embarrassment.
In 1910 Asquith made him a junior minister.
The following transitive verbs are used with a name as object complement:
call, christen, dub, name, nickname
Everyone called her Molly.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.