Delahunty and Garvey
c. Sylvia has been doing a lot of work lately.
d. Of course we are being ironic.
e. Zelda was congratulated for her good work.
f. The job has been completed.
VP: head + object(s)/complement
A phrase that obligatorily follows a verb head is called an object or comple-
ment. These terms are sometimes interchangeable, although tradition has
tended to attach “object” to some constructions and “complement” to oth-
ers. The reasons for the variation are obscure. The label “object” dimly sug-
gests the goal or purpose of the verb head, though neither of these semantic
labels applies to every structure so labeled. The term “complement” suggests
the notion of completing (hence the spelling) the verb in some way. Table 8
lists the four main types of objects and complements.
type example
Direct Object The Vikings demanded [tribute (NP)].
Indirect Object Waldo gave [his sister (NP)] a dictionary.
PP Complement Waldo gave a dictionary [to his sister (PP)]
Subject Complement Freud was [a prude (NP)]/[prudish (AP)].
Object Complement I consider Jung [a quack (NP)]/[unreliable (AP)].
Sentence Complement I realize [that tests should be easier (S)].
table 8: objects and complements of verbs
Table 8 reveals that NPs can serve any object or complement function,
that adjective phrases can also act in complement functions, and that an
entire clause or sentence can act as the complement of certain verbs.
An important grammatical notion associated with the direct object is
that of transitivity. A transitive verb takes a direct object; an intransitive
verb does not. Thus the sentences (66a-d) contain transitive verbs and those
in (67a-d) contain intransitive verbs. The direct objects in (66) are italicized.
(66) a. Moriarty eluded Sherlock.
b. Everyone avoided me.
c. Sarah gave him some good advice.
d. I consider Jung a quack/unreliable.
(67) a. We walked.