Verbs of incomplete predication

January 27th, 2012 in English Learning

Study the following sentences.

The baby is…

We were …

Neither sentence expresses a complete thought. Some word or words have to be supplied to complete their meaning.

The baby is hungry.

We were shocked.

Such verbs which do not express a complete thought are called verbs of incomplete predication. The chief verb of incomplete predication is be.

The verb to be is followed by a subject complement. The subject complement may be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or adverbial phrase.

Subject Verb Subject complement (noun)
He is an engineer.
They are our neighbors.
She is my sister.
Those are insects.

 

Subject Verb Subject complement (adjective)
The cake was delicious.
His performance was superb.
The play was entertaining.

 

Subject Verb Subject complement (adverb)
He is in the next room.
It was late at night.
God is everywhere.
The children are upstairs.

Some intransitive verbs too are followed by subject complements. Examples are: remain, look, appear, turn, sound, feel, go, run, act etc. Here also the subject complement may be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or an adverbial phrase.

Subject Verb Subject complement
She remained a spinster
James looks genius
This appears a suitable site
The crowd turned violent
That sounds funny
I felt miserable
Joseph went abroad
The boy ran very fast
He acted in a treacherous manner

The complement of the intransitive verb always describes the subject and is therefore called subject complement.

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