Objective Complements

Objective complement (object complement) completes the meaning of the object. It stands after the object. The objective complement can be:

[1] noun

She considers him brother.
I call him Robert.

[2] adjective

They made us upset.
Thida painted her house yellow.

[3] gerund

I saw him running.
She overheard them gossiping about her.

[4] infinitive

They force him to go away.
I encourage him to work harder.

[5] bare-infinitive

I noticed him throw a sweet wrapper on the floor.
I watched him climb through the window.

[6] prepositional phrase

The news fill them with terror.
She treated his brother with care.

[7] noun clause

You can call him what you like.
The games made the party what it was.

What is Verb (Element)?

Verb, the second most important element in a sentence, can be just a single word (verb) or group of words containing main verb and auxiliary verbs. Look at the examples below:
 • She smiled. (SV)

 • He had bought a house.  (SVO)

WHAT CAN BE A VERB (ELEMENT)?

[1] a single verb

 • They laughed loudly.
 • She sang a song.
 • He drove slowly.
 • We love Cambodia.



[2] a main verb and auxiliary verb

 • I was reading at 8pm last night.

 • She had finished her meal when we arrived.

 • They will be traveling at this time next year.

 • The book has been written by a famous author.

What is Adverbial?

Adverbial is a word or group of words which is used as an adverb in a sentence. Look at the examples below:
 • Bora runs fast. ('fast' is an adverbial)
 • She sings very well. ('very well' is an adverbial)
 • We are sitting in the class. ('in the class' is an adverbial)

WHAT CAN BE AN ADVERBIAL?

[1] An adverb

 • I get up early.
 • He has gone home.
 • We will meet tomorrow.
 • He drives carefully.

[2] An adverb phrase

 • They work very hard.
 • She came a bit late.
 • They lived very far.
 • He acted so carelessly.

[3] A prepositional phrase used as an adverb

 • They are at a hotel.
 • I’m going to the bank. 
 • He wrote with red pen.
 • We will talk after lunch time.

What is Complement?

Complement is a word or group of words which completes the meaning of a subject or object; for examples,
  • He is a student.
  • She is so intelligent.

TYPES OF COMPLEMENTS

There are two types of complements: subject complements and object complements.

[1] Subject complements

The subject complements complete the meaning of the subjects; they normally stand after linking verbs. For examples,
  • Vutha is a businessman.

  • The photograph looks nice.


[2] Object complements

The object complements complete the meaning of the objects; they normally stand after direct objects. For examples,
  • He appointed her secretary.
  • We find the food disgusting.

WHAT CAN BE A COMPLEMENT?

An complement can be noun, pronoun, noun phrase, noun clause, adjective, adjective phrase, gerund, gerund phrase, infinitive, or infinitive phrase.
 
[1] A noun or noun phrase
  • That is an interesting book.
  • The readers find the book interesting.


[2] A pronoun
  • The book is mine.
  • Please consider the house yours.


[3] A noun clause
  • Her dream is that she becomes a model.
  • You can call him what you like.


[4] An adjective or adjective phrase
  • He is so young.
  • The judge find the man guilty. 


[5] A participle or participle phrase
  • The man looks scaring.
  • The man made himself scaring.


[6] A gerund or gerund phrase
  • My hobby is reading.
  • His wish is becoming a doctor.



[7] An infinitive or infinitive phrase 
  • To see is to believe.

  • His plan is to finish MBA in 3 years.

What is Object?

Object is a word or group of words which receives the action from the verbs; for examples,

  •  Samnang drinks tea everyday.
  •  She has written a long essay.
  •  I won't tell where he lives.


TYPES OF OBJECTS

There are three types of objects: direct object, indirect object, and object of preposition.

Direct objects
The direct object receives the action from the verb; it stands after a transitive verb -- a verb that needs object; for examples,
  •  A boy is playing football.
  •  We planted a tree.

Indirect objects
The indirect object tells who the direct object is for or to; it is used with ditransitive verbs -- a verb that needs two objects-- such as tell, buy, give, offer, sent, provide, etc; for examples,
  •  My mother bought me a dictionary. ('a dictionary' is for 'me'.)
  •  We sent our boss a report. ('a report' is to 'our boss'.)

Object of prepositions
The object of preposition stands after a preposition such as at, on, in, for, etc; for examples,
  •  They are good at maths.
  •  I left my book on the table.


WHAT CAN BE AN OBJECT?

An object can be noun, pronoun, noun phrase, noun clause, gerund, gerund phrase, infinitive, or infinitive phrase.

A noun:
  •  He usually drinks milk.
  •  We bought apples yesterday.

A pronoun:
  •  Could you help him?
  •  He bought himself new shoes.

A noun phrase:
  •  Vutha has designed a fantastic webpage.
  •  He lent his brother some money.

A noun clause:
  •  I don't understand what he wanted to do.
  •  He admitted that he had made a mistake.

A gerund:
  •  We enjoyed swimming.
  •  He is poor at reading.

A gerund phrase:
  •  I suggested visiting a remote village.
  •  He admitted making mistakes. 
 
An infinitive:
  •  She has planned to resign.
  •  He ask me not to move. 
 
An infinitive phrase:
  •  He always tries to do his best.
  •  We plan to release a report soon.

What is Subject?

Subject is a word or group of words which tells who/what the sentence is about or what/who does the action. The subject could be considered as simple, compound, or complete subject:

Simple subjects
The simple subject is the main word or words in the complete subject; for examples,
  •  A lovely boy is playing with his mother.
  •  A new generation tablet was launched yesterday.

Compound subjects
A compound subject contains two or more subjects that have the same verb. The simple subjects in a compound subject are usually joined by 'and' or 'or'; for examples,
  •  A lovely boy and his mother are in the house.
  •  A new generation tablet or computer was launched yesterday.

Complete subjects
The complete subject  includes all the words that tell who or what the sentence is about; for examples,
  •  A lovely boy is playing with his mother.
  •  A new generation tablet was launched yesterday.

  •  A lovely boy and his mother are in the house.
  •  A new generation tablet or computer was launched yesterday.



WHAT CAN BE A SUBJECT?

A subject can be noun, pronoun, noun phrase, noun clause, gerund, gerund phrase, infinitive, or infinitive phrase.

A noun:
  •  Samnang likes music.
  •  People are greedy.

A pronoun:
  •  She is so intelligent.
  •  Everyone enjoys the party.

A noun phrase:
  •  Lazy student always have excuses.
  •  Our future plan is to expand our business nationwide.


A noun clause:
  •  Where he lives is not known.
  •  That you like her is a secret.

A gerund:
  •  Swimming is my favorite sport.
  •  Reading helps to improve my English.

A gerund phrase:
  •  Visiting a remote village will excite you.
  •  Making mistakes is not worse, but not accepting mistakes is.
 
An infinitive:
  •  To listen is quite important in communication.
  •  To act speaks louder than to speak.
 
An infinitive phrase:
  •  To improve my English is my new year's plan.
  •  To win support from staff is what the leader should do.