Complements in other Phrase Types
Complements also occur in all of the other phrase types. We exemplify each type in the following table:
|
Phrase Type |
Head |
Typical Complements |
Examples |
| Noun Phrase (NP) |
noun |
PP
clause |
respect for
human rights the realisation that nothing has changed |
| Verb Phrase (VP) |
verb |
NP
|
David plays
the piano They realised that nothing has changed She looked at the moon |
| Adjective Phrase (AP) |
adjective |
clause PP |
easy to
read fond of biscuits |
| Adverb Phrase (AdvP) |
adverb |
PP | luckily for me |
| Prepositional Phrase (PP) |
preposition |
NP PP |
in the
room from behind the wall |
Adverb phrases are very limited in the Complements they can take. In fact, they generally occur without any Complement.
Noun phrases which take Complements generally have an abstract noun as their Head, and they often have a verbal counterpart:
| the pursuit of happiness | ~we pursue happiness |
| their belief in ghosts | ~they believe in ghosts |
| the realisation that nothing has changed | ~they realise that nothing has changed |
In each of the following
phrases, identify the
Complement by clicking before and after it.
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copyright
The Survey of English Usage 1996-1998