Delahunty and Garvey
complementation and modification.
Words, phrases, and sentences play several roles in language, two of which
are complementation and modification. We have already seen these roles in
examples, but have not discussed them per se. We will do that here.
Complementation
When one element in an expression creates the expectation that anoth-
er expression will also occur, the expected element complements (i.e.,
completes) the expecting element. (Note the spelling—complements not
compliments.) For example, a preposition like on requires a phrase denot-
ing notions such as location or time, as in on the pavement, on time, on
your mark; and a verb such as buy requires a phrase denoting something
bought, as in buy lunch.
Exercise
Identify the entire complement phrase in each of the following expres-
sions. For example, to [the store]:
a. for better or worse
b. keep the change
c. during the storm
d. sell your car
e. at an important juncture
Modification
A word alone denotes an entire class of things, for example, motorcycle
denotes the entire class of things we call motorcycles. When one expres-
sion is modified by another, then, generally the two expressions together
denote only a subset of the things denoted by the unmodified expression.
For example, in the phrase, Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the head, motor-
cycles, is modified by Harley-Davidson, and consequently the whole phrase
denotes just those motorcycles that are Harley-Davidsons.
Phrases may include many modifiers, as in tall, black, neutered, male,
domestic, short-haired cat. Here we have six modifiers each restricting the
potential reference of the word cat. The result of piling on these modifiers is
that the referent of the phrase must satisfy all of them—it must be a cat that
is tall, black, neutered, male, domestic, and short-haired. Each modifier acts
like a criterion that the ultimate referent(s) of the phrase must satisfy.
Notice that modifiers are not required or implied by the expressions