English Grammar 21: VERBS OF INCOMPLETE PREDICATION

Chapter 21: Verbs of Incomplete Predication

Welcome to Chapter 21! In this lesson, we will explore a special group of verbs known as Verbs of Incomplete Predication. Sometimes, a verb cannot complete the meaning of a sentence on its own and needs a little helper called a Complement. We will break this down step-by-step so that it is crystal clear.

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Topic 1: What is a Verb of Incomplete Predication? (Subjective Complements)

A Clear and Detailed Explanation

Every complete sentence must have a Subject (who or what is doing the action) and a Verb (the action or state of being). Let us look at a simple example:

• 1. The baby sleeps.

In this sentence, the subject is The baby, and the verb is sleeps. The sentence makes complete sense on its own. The verb "sleeps" is an Intransitive Verb (it does not need an object to receive the action), and it is a verb of complete predication.

Now, read this sentence:

• 2. The baby seems happy.

If we just say, "The baby seems," the sentence feels unfinished. We are left asking, "Seems what?" The verb seems does not make complete sense by itself. It requires another word to complete its meaning. In this case, the word happy is added.

Definitions:

• Verb of Incomplete Predication: An Intransitive Verb that requires an extra word or phrase to make complete sense.
• Complement: The word (or phrase) required to complete the meaning of the verb. It is also called the Completion of the Predicate.
• Subjective Complement: When the complement describes or renames the Subject (like "happy" describes "baby"), it is called a Subjective Complement. It is usually a Noun (Predicative Noun) or an Adjective (Predicative Adjective).

Important Rules and Exceptions

• Rule 1: Verbs of Incomplete Predication usually express ideas of being (is, am, are, was, were), becoming (become, grow), seeming (seem, appear), or the senses (look, smell, taste, feel).
• Rule 2: When the Subjective Complement is a Noun, it is in the same case as the Subject—meaning it is in the Nominative Case.

Original Solved Examples

Here are the original examples from the text. Notice how the highlighted complement describes the subject.

Sentence	Verb	Subjective Complement	Type of Complement
1. Tabby is a cat.	is	a cat	Noun
2. The earth is round.	is	round	Adjective
3. John became a soldier.	became	a soldier	Noun
4. Mr. Mehta became mayor.	became	mayor	Noun
5. The man seems tired.	seems	tired	Adjective
6. You look happy.	look	happy	Adjective
7. The sky grew dark.	grew	dark	Adjective
8. Roses smell sweet.	smell	sweet	Adjective
9. Sugar tastes sweet.	tastes	sweet	Adjective
10. She appears pleased.	appears	pleased	Adjective
11. This house is to let.	is	to let	Infinitive phrase

Additional Practice Exercises

Identify the verb and the subjective complement in the following sentences:

1. The milk turned sour.
2. The weather remained calm.
3. My brother is a dentist.
4. The music sounds loud.

Solutions and Explanations

1. Verb: turned | Complement: sour. (Sour describes the milk.)
2. Verb: remained | Complement: calm. (Calm describes the weather.)
3. Verb: is | Complement: a dentist. (Dentist renames the brother.)
4. Verb: sounds | Complement: loud. (Loud describes the music.)

Common Mistakes & Tips

• Mistake: Using an adverb instead of an adjective after a verb of senses (e.g., "I feel badly").
• Tip: Sense verbs (feel, taste, smell, look) take adjectives (Subjective Complements), not adverbs. Say, "I feel bad," or "The soup tastes good" (not well).

Quick Summary of Topic 1

Some intransitive verbs (like is, seems, becomes) cannot stand alone. They need a Subjective Complement (a noun or adjective) to describe the subject and complete the sentence's meaning.

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Topic 2: Transitive Verbs with Objective Complements

A Clear and Detailed Explanation

So far, we looked at Intransitive verbs. But what about Transitive Verbs (verbs that take an object)? Usually, a transitive verb is complete once it has an object. For example: "I ate an apple." The action (ate) passes to the object (apple). Makes perfect sense!

However, certain Transitive Verbs require both an Object and a Complement to complete their meaning. Let us look at an example:

• "The boys made Rama captain."

If we just say, "The boys made Rama," the meaning is incomplete. Did they build him? No. The word captain is required to complete the sense. Because captain describes the Object (Rama), it is called an Objective Complement.

Important Rules and Exceptions

• Rule: The Objective Complement comes after the direct object and describes or renames it.
• Rule: When the Objective Complement is a noun, it is in the Objective (or Accusative) Case because it agrees with the Object.
• Exception/Note: Do not confuse an Objective Complement with an Indirect Object. In "He gave me a book," "me" and "book" are two different things (Indirect and Direct objects). In "They made him king," "him" and "king" are the same person (Object and Objective Complement).

Original Solved Examples

Here are the original examples showing how the complement completes the action done to the object:

Sentence	Transitive Verb	Object	Objective Complement	Type
1. The boys made Rama captain.	made	Rama	captain	Noun
2. His parents named him Hari.	named	him	Hari	Noun
3. This made him vain.	made	him	vain	Adjective
4. The jury found him guilty.	found	him	guilty	Adjective
5. Rama called his cousin a liar.	called	cousin	a liar	Noun
6. Exercise has made his muscles strong.	has made	muscles	strong	Adjective
7. I consider the man trustworthy.	consider	man	trustworthy	Adjective
8. God called the light day.	called	light	day	Noun
9. We thought him a rascal.	thought	him	a rascal	Noun
10. They chose him their leader.	chose	him	leader	Noun

Additional Practice Exercises

Identify the Object and the Objective Complement in the following sentences:

1. The club elected Sarah president.
2. We painted the house blue.
3. They kept the room clean.
4. I found the movie boring.

Solutions and Explanations

1. Object: Sarah | Objective Complement: president. (President renames Sarah.)
2. Object: house | Objective Complement: blue. (Blue describes the house.)
3. Object: room | Objective Complement: clean. (Clean describes the room.)
4. Object: movie | Objective Complement: boring. (Boring describes the movie.)

Common Mistakes & Tips

• Mistake: Mixing up Adverbs and Objective Complements. "He painted the wall beautifully" (Beautifully is an adverb describing HOW he painted). "He painted the wall green" (Green is an Objective Complement describing the WALL).
• Tip: If the word describes the object itself, it's a complement. If it describes the action (the verb), it's an adverb.

Quick Summary of Topic 2

Some Transitive Verbs (like make, call, name, find, paint) need an Objective Complement to describe the object. Without it, the sentence feels unfinished.

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Comprehensive Solutions: Original Exercise in Grammar 38

Instructions: Say whether the Verbs in the following sentences are Transitive or Intransitive, name the Object of each Transitive Verb, and the Complement of each Verb of Incomplete Predication.

No.	Sentence	Verb	Verb Type	Object	Complement (Subj/Obj)
1	The hungry lion roars.	roars	Intransitive	-	-
2	The report proved false.	proved	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	false (Subjective)
3	The boy stood on the burning deck.	stood	Intransitive	-	- (on the burning deck is a phrase)
4	The child had fallen sick.	had fallen	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	sick (Subjective)
5	The ass continued braying.	continued	Transitive	braying (Gerund)	-
6	The wind is cold.	is	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	cold (Subjective)
7	The results are out.	are	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	out (Subjective)
8	He tried again and again.	tried	Intransitive	-	-
9	We see with our eyes.	see	Intransitive	-	-
10	The child fell asleep.	fell	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	asleep (Subjective)
11	The weather is hot.	is	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	hot (Subjective)
12	They are Europeans.	are	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	Europeans (Subjective)
13	The rumour seems true.	seems	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	true (Subjective)
14	Owls hide in the daytime.	hide	Intransitive	-	-
15	Bad boys hide their faults.	hide	Transitive	faults	-
16	The poor woman went mad.	went	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	mad (Subjective)
17	We waited patiently at the station.	waited	Intransitive	-	-
18	He told a lie.	told	Transitive	lie	-
19	They elected him president.	elected	Transitive (Incomplete)	him	president (Objective)
20	I found her weeping.	found	Transitive (Incomplete)	her	weeping (Objective)
21	He struck the man dead.	struck	Transitive (Incomplete)	man	dead (Objective)
22	The crow flew down and stole the cheese.	flew / stole	Intransitive / Transitive	cheese (for stole)	-
23	The sky looks threatening.	looks	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	threatening (Subjective)
24	They made him general.	made	Transitive (Incomplete)	him	general (Objective)
25	He waited an hour.	waited	Intransitive	- (hour is adverb of time)	-
26	New brooms sweep clean.	sweep	Intransitive (Incomplete)	-	clean (Subjective)

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End of Chapter Quiz: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs)

Test your knowledge of Complements, Transitive verbs, and Intransitive verbs!

1. Which of the following sentences contains a Verb of Incomplete Predication?
   A) The dog barks loudly.
   B) She sings beautifully.
   C) The cake smells delicious.
   D) He runs every morning.
   Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Smells" needs the adjective "delicious" to complete its meaning. It is a verb of senses.
2. What do we call a word that completes the meaning of a verb and describes the subject?
   A) Direct Object
   B) Subjective Complement
   C) Objective Complement
   D) Adverb
   Correct Answer: B. Explanation: A subjective complement follows an incomplete intransitive verb and describes the subject.
3. Identify the complement in the sentence: "The sky grew dark."
   A) sky
   B) grew
   C) dark
   D) There is no complement.
   Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Dark" is an adjective that completes the verb "grew" and describes the sky.
4. In the sentence "We painted the door green", what is the word "green"?
   A) Subject
   B) Subjective Complement
   C) Objective Complement
   D) Indirect Object
   Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Green" describes the object "door", making it an objective complement.
5. A subjective complement that is a noun is always in which case?
   A) Nominative Case
   B) Objective Case
   C) Possessive Case
   D) Dative Case
   Correct Answer: A. Explanation: Since it describes the subject, it agrees with the subject's case, which is nominative.
6. Identify the verb type in: "The birds fly."
   A) Transitive
   B) Intransitive of complete predication
   C) Intransitive of incomplete predication
   D) Transitive with objective complement
   Correct Answer: B. Explanation: "Fly" does not need an object or a complement to make complete sense.
7. Which sentence contains an Objective Complement?
   A) The food tastes spicy.
   B) My mother bought me a gift.
   C) The committee appointed him manager.
   D) The sun is shining brightly.
   Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Manager" completes the meaning of "appointed" and describes the object "him".
8. In "Mr. Mehta became mayor", the word "mayor" is a:
   A) Predicative Noun
   B) Predicative Adjective
   C) Object
   D) Adverb
   Correct Answer: A. Explanation: "Mayor" is a noun completing the verb "became", describing the subject.
9. In the sentence "Sugar tastes sweet", what is "sweet"?
   A) Adverb of manner
   B) Direct Object
   C) Predicative Adjective
   D) Objective Complement
   Correct Answer: C. Explanation: It is an adjective functioning as a subjective complement.
10. Choose the correct sentence structure for a Transitive Verb of Incomplete Predication:
    A) Subject + Verb + Complement
    B) Subject + Verb + Object + Complement
    C) Subject + Verb
    D) Subject + Verb + Adverb
    Correct Answer: B. Explanation: It needs both an object and a complement to make full sense (e.g., We made him king).
11. "The jury found him guilty." Identify the direct object.
    A) jury
    B) found
    C) him
    D) guilty
    Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Him" is the receiver of the action, while "guilty" is the objective complement describing him.
12. Is the verb in this sentence transitive or intransitive? "The hungry lion roars."
    A) Transitive
    B) Intransitive
    C) Transitive Incomplete
    D) None of the above
    Correct Answer: B. Explanation: The verb "roars" makes complete sense on its own and takes no object.
13. Which of these verbs usually requires an objective complement?
    A) Sleep
    B) Elect
    C) Cry
    D) Go
    Correct Answer: B. Explanation: You elect someone (object) a title (complement), like "We elected her president."
14. In the sentence "The child fell asleep", "asleep" functions as:
    A) A subjective complement
    B) A direct object
    C) An objective complement
    D) A verb
    Correct Answer: A. Explanation: "Asleep" completes the intransitive verb "fell" and describes the state of the "child" (subject).
15. "God called the light day." What is the objective complement?
    A) God
    B) called
    C) light
    D) day
    Correct Answer: D. Explanation: "Day" completes the meaning and renames the object "light".
16. Which of the following is an example of an intransitive verb of incomplete predication?
    A) She ate an apple.
    B) The children laughed.
    C) The water seems warm.
    D) He broke the glass.
    Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Seems" is intransitive but needs "warm" to complete the meaning.
17. An objective complement that is a noun is in the:
    A) Nominative Case
    B) Objective (Accusative) Case
    C) Possessive Case
    D) Instrumental Case
    Correct Answer: B. Explanation: It agrees with the object it describes, so it must be in the objective case.
18. Identify the subjective complement in: "This house is to let."
    A) This
    B) house
    C) is
    D) to let
    Correct Answer: D. Explanation: "To let" is an infinitive phrase acting as the subjective complement describing the house.
19. What is the error in this sentence: "The soup tastes well."?
    A) Soup cannot taste anything.
    B) "Well" is an adverb; sense verbs need an adjective complement like "good".
    C) It needs an objective complement.
    D) There is no error.
    Correct Answer: B. Explanation: Verbs of incomplete predication take predicative adjectives, not adverbs.
20. In "Exercise has made his muscles strong", the word "muscles" is the:
    A) Subject
    B) Subjective Complement
    C) Object
    D) Objective Complement
    Correct Answer: C. Explanation: "Muscles" is the direct object receiving the action of "made", while "strong" is the objective complement.