Subject+verb+object+complement.
It is also possible to have part of a clause that completes the object:
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT COMPLEMENT
The company made Peter Smithson Managing Director.
This made his wife very happy.
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Subject+verb+object.
If there is an object, it normally follows the verb. It refers to a different person or thing from the subject. Frequently that person or thing is affected by the action described by the verb:
SUBJECT VERB OBJECT
I shot the sheriff.
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Subject+verb+complement.
A small number of verbs are followed not by an object, but by a complement. The commonest of these verbs is be. For example:
SUBJECT VERB COMPLEMENT
I am the sheriff.
In clauses like this the verb acts like an equal sign:
I = the sheriff.
The purpose of the complement is to complete the subject – hence its name:
SUBJECT VERB COMPLEMENT
This book is absolutely fascinating.
Peter Smithson became Managing Director.
His wife seemed very happy.
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Clauses can contain five different components:
Subject.
Verb.
Object.
Complement.
Adverbial.
Subject+verb.
The simplest pattern for a clause is a subject followed by a verb. The subject tells us what the sentence is about and the verb tells us what the subject is doing, or has been doing:
SUBJECT VERB
Birds sing.
A very large and ugly chicken was squawking.
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We can use sentences for four main purposes in communication:
To make a statement:
That car is travelling very fast.
To ask a question:
Is that car breaking the speed limit?
To give an order or make a request:
Don’t drive so fast!
To make an exclamation:
How fast that car is travelling!
Each has a different structure, but since statement sentences are by far the commonest, the explanations in this introduction concentrate on them.
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