complement (n.) (comp)

A term used in the analysis of GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION, to refer to a major CONSTITUENT of SENTENCE or CLAUSE STRUCTURE, traditionally associated with ‘completing’ the action specified by the VERB. In its broadest sense, complement therefore is a very general notion, subsuming all obligatory features of the PREDICATE other than the verb, e.g. OBJECTS (e.g. She kicked the ball) and ADVERBIALS (e.g. She was in the garden). In some approaches, the complement is given a more restricted definition, e.g. to refer only to the ‘completing’ function of structures following the verb to be (or similar verbs) – in such an analysis, She saw the doctor would be SUBJECT– Verb–Object, whereas She is a doctor would be Subject–Verb–Complement. A further distinction is sometimes made between complements of the subject and those of the object, as in She is a doctor (subject complement) and She called me a fool (object complement). Complement clauses of various kinds are recognized, this notion sometimes being interpreted as any kind of SUBORDINATE clause, sometimes as only one type of subordinate clause (e.g. a clause following be, such as That is what I said). However, the domain of complementation remains an unclear area in linguistic analysis, and there are several unresolved issues, e.g. whether the PARTICLES in phrasal verbs (e.g. come in) should be subsumed under this heading. In GENERATIVE grammar, a complement is a SISTER constituent of a ZERO-level category. Categories other than the verb are also sometimes said to take complements, e.g. in a student of physics, of physics is said to be the complement of student. In X-BAR SYNTAX, the term is used in opposition to ADJUNCT (cf. a student with long hair).