Object Complement: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what an object complement is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on object complements, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is an object complement?

According to Grammar Monster, an object complement is a phrase or word that identifies, describes or renames the object of the sentence. It can either be an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun. This is also called an objective complement. In the grammar of English and linguistic structure of modern English, this can be a single word or noun clauses. 

This is different from a subject complement or subjective complement, which is a phrase or word that follows a linking verb and identifies, describes or renames the subject of the sentence. It can either be an adjective, a noun, or a pronoun in English grammar.  The three types of subject complements are called predicate nouns, predicate adjectives, subject pronouns, and predicate pronouns. These modifiers provide further information about the meaning of the subject of a sentence. In traditional grammar, this can be called a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective. These renaming noun phrases can be adjective phrases, and must follow the action of the verb known as a linking verb, not an action verb, transitive active verb, transitive verb, intransitive verb, or stative verbs, per many grammarians.

What are examples of object complements?

An object complement can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of object complement that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at the following sentences of object complement examples from Your Dictionary, Grammar Monster, and Writing Explained and see how many you can identify the object complement in!

  •  We appointed Barry treasurer.
  •  We made Myra angry.
  •  I found the guard sleeping in the barn.
  •  Shan named John the new manager.
  •  To obtain a man’s opinion of you, make him mad. (Physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes)
  •  We went to see our instructor, a gifted singer.
  •  I knocked on the door of my boss’ office, which is also the mayor’s office.
  •  I declare this centre open.
  •  Shane made Neil frustrated.
  •  They chose the candidate who was best.
  •  They made him supervisor.
  •  Based on my childhood experiences, my best friend had a father who was a liar.
  •  The brothers enemies passed judgment him on social media, namely Facebook.
  •  Darren found his son fast asleep under his blanket.
  •  The gentle music rendered Janine quite drowsy.
  •  The garlic has made the soup awful. 
  •  We consider fish spoiled once it smells like what it is.
  •  I entered my apartment, which was a gift from my grandmother.
  •  We named our dog Peter.
  •  We named John the captain.
  •  We chose James for captain.
  •  She called me silly.
  •  We all consider her unworthy of the position.
  •  He makes me very sad.
  •  We considered him worthy.
  •   They elected Margaret Board President.
  •  A wool scarf will keep your neck warm in the winter.
  •  Heidi Hopper took a short course, which covered lots of verbs.
  •  Rodney took a quick test, which was easier than he expected and covered culture in New York and Amsterdam.

What are other grammar terms?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  •  abstract
  •  periphrasis | periphrastic
  •  third-person
  •  indicative
  •  adverbial | adverbially
  •  part of speech
  •  collocation | collocate
  •  pro-form
  •  absolute (absol.)
  •  count noun
  •  inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •  imperative (imper.)
  •  noun phrase
  •  tense
  •  mass noun
  •  conditional
  •  dative
  •  base form
  •  agent noun
  •  anticipatory
  •  dual
  •  participial adjective
  •  mood
  •  nominal relative | nominal relative clause
  •  passive infinitive
  •  agree | agreement
  •  bare infinitive
  •  that-clause
  •  nominative
  •  premodify | premodifier
  •  instrumental
  •  phrasal verb
  •  double object
  •  intensifier
  •  masculine
  •  attributive
  •  gender
  •  pronoun (pron.)
  •  prepositional phrase
  •  second person
  •  direct speech
  •  stem
  •  morpheme
  •  finite
  •  genitive
  •  proper noun | proper name
  •  person
  •  indefinite
  •  singular
  •  unmarked genitive
  •  superlative
  •  indirect object
  •  impersonal (impers.)
  •  determiner
  •  definite article
  •  present participle
  •  first person
  •  cognate object
  •  zero
  •  appositive
  •  progressive
  •  reflexive
  •  neuter
  •  clause
  •  comparative
  •  noun (n.)
  •  indirect question
  •  subjunctive
  •  simple
  •  gerund
  •  concrete
  •  number
  •  prepositional object
  •  copular verb | copula
  •  complement
  •  direct object
  •  direct question
  •  past tense
  •  plural
  •  participle | past participle | present participle
  •  optative
  •  element
  •  positive
  •  combination
  •  apposition
  •  construction
  •  combining form (comb. form)
  •  phrase (phr.)
  •  predicative
  •  adverb (adv.)
  •  indirect speech
  •  objective
  •  relative
  •  subjective
  •  protasis
  •  verb (v.)
  •  conjunction (conj.)
  •  past participle
  •  anaphoric
  •  compound | compounding
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  vocative
  •  object | direct object | indirect object
  •  subordinate clause
  •  complementary
  •  declarative
  •  indirect passive
  •  pleonasm | pleonastic
  •  preposition (prep.)
  •  prefix
  •  common noun
  •  infinitive
  •  modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •  main verb
  •  dependent clause
  •  ellipsis | elliptical
  •  cataphoric
  •  demonstrative
  •  construed (const., constr.)
  •  possessive
  •  interjection
  •  main clause
  •  interrogative
  •  modify | modifier
  •  active
  •  non-finite
  •  auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •  feminine
  •  accusative
  •  personal pronoun
  •  prepositional passive
  •  quasi-
  •  subject
  •  locative
  •  antecedent
  •  suffix
  •  transitive
  •  parenthetical | parenthetically
  •  adjective
  •  perfect
  •  head
  •  parasynthetic
  •  possessive adjective
  •  non-referential
  •  filler
  •  case
  •  to-infinitive
  •  postmodify | postmodifier
  •  special use
  •  intransitive
  •  present tense
  •  passive
  •  sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •  collective noun
  •  similative
  •  article
  •  verbal noun
  •  apodosis and protasis
  •  causative

Overall, an object complement is a phrase or word that identifies, describes or renames the object of the sentence.

Sources:

  1. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  2. What is an Object Complement? Definition, Examples of Object Complement Grammar | Writing Explained 
  3. Object Complement | What Is an Object Complement? | Grammar Monster 
  4. What Are Subject and Object Complements in Grammar? | Your Dictionary 
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Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.

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