Practice Exercise in Identifying Subject and Object Complements

phone display showing subject and object complements

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In grammar, a complement is a word or word group that completes the predicate in a sentence. Subject complements follow a linking verb and provide additional information about the subject of the sentence. The subject complement is normally a noun or an adjective that defines or renames the subject in some way. Object complements follow and modify a direct object and provide additional information about it. An object complement can be a noun or adjective or any word acting as a noun or adjective.

Subject complements and object complements fill out and complete our sentences. Object complements provide more detail about the object of a sentence, while subject complements provide information about the subject to a sentence.

Learn to identify subject complements and object complements in sentences by completing this practice exercise.

Practice Exercise

Identify the complement in each of the following sentences and note whether it is a subject complement or an object complement. When you are finished, compare your responses with the correct answers.

  1. Pablo is extremely intelligent.
  2. I find him intelligent.
  3. Shyla eventually became my best friend.
  4. Our neighbor's dogs are very dangerous.
  5. Ginger's hair dye turned the water pink.
  6. After our disagreement on the first day of school, Jenny became my friend for life.
  7. We painted the ceiling blue.
  8. You are making me sad.
  9. Paula is a good dancer.
  10. Dorothy named her parakeet Onan.
  11. Known as "the father of the Texas blues," Blind Lemon Jefferson was a popular entertainer in the 1920s.
  12. The gift Karen gave her brother was a hamster.
  13. Buck grew up in Oklahoma and became an expert horse rider before reaching his 18th birthday. 
  14. I once considered Nancy my fiercest enemy.
  15. After reviewing the details of the case, the court pronounced the boy not guilty.
  16. By the second month of the drought, the river had run dry.

Answers

The complement in each sentence is bolded and the type of complement (subject or object) is noted in parenthesis.

  1. Pablo is extremely intelligent. (subject complement)
  2. I find him intelligent. (object complement)
  3. Shyla eventually became my best friend. (subject complement)
  4. Our neighbor's dogs are very dangerous. (subject complement)
  5. Ginger's hair dye turned the water pink. (object complement)
  6. After our disagreement on the first day of school, Jenny became my friend for life. (subject complement)
  7. We painted the ceiling blue. (object complement)
  8. You are making me sad. (object complement)
  9. Paula is a good dancer. (subject complement)
  10. Dorothy named her parakeet Onan. (object complement)
  11. Known as "the father of the Texas blues," Blind Lemon Jefferson was a popular entertainer in the 1920s. (subject complement)
  12. The gift Karen gave her brother was a hamster. (subject complement)
  13. Buck grew up in Oklahoma and became an expert horse rider before reaching his 18th birthday. (subject complement)
  14. I once considered Nancy my fiercest enemy. (object complement)
  15. After reviewing the details of the case, the court pronounced the boy not guilty. (object complement)
  16. By the second month of the drought, the river had run dry. (subject complement)​
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Your Citation
Nordquist, Richard. "Practice Exercise in Identifying Subject and Object Complements." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/identifying-subject-and-object-complements-1692224. Nordquist, Richard. (2020, August 26). Practice Exercise in Identifying Subject and Object Complements. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/identifying-subject-and-object-complements-1692224 Nordquist, Richard. "Practice Exercise in Identifying Subject and Object Complements." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/identifying-subject-and-object-complements-1692224 (accessed March 28, 2024).