VERB AS COMPLEMENT

VERB AS COMPLEMENT

Verb as complement is the arrangement of one verb as the object of another verb. The idea behind ‘complements’ in grammar is that not all verbs can stand alone – many of them need to be ‘completed’ by other words or phrases, such as objects, other verbs, clauses, etc. This is a fairly complex area, and in this unit we have chosen to focus on some of the more common types of complements.

At this point, it would be useful to distinguish between

• complements, which are needed to make the sentence ‘complete’ and

• adjuncts, which provide additional information but are not indispensable.

Consider the underlined words in the following examples:

1. He wanted a new car.

2. He wanted to drive the car.

Without the underlined parts, these sentences would be incomplete: *’He wanted’. So the underlined words are complements of the verb wanted – they ‘complete’ it. Compare these complements with the following examples:

3. He laughed aloud.

4. He laughed at his classmate’s mistake.

The underlined parts in (3-4), of course, add more information to the sentence. But, unlike (1-2), they are not absolutely necessary to make the sentence grammatical. You can leave them out and the sentence would still be grammatical: ‘He laughed’. So, the underlined parts are not complements, but adjuncts, which are optional and can be omitted. The underlined parts in the following are also adjuncts:

5. He wanted a new car for his next birthday.

6. He wanted to drive the car because he loved driving.

In this course, we will not be saying much about adjuncts, because they are less likely to cause errors, and because they are too many and varied. But complements are grammatically much more important, and you should try your best to use them correctly.

1.      Verb + To Infinitive

In one sentence, after the verb could be followed by another verb that functions as a complement verb / auxiliary verb. Some of the particular verb must be followed to infinitive if the verb is functioning as a verb complement.

Example :

Wrong: They decided not continue the contruction of the bridge

Wrong: They decided not continueing the contruction of the bridge

Correct: They Decide not to continue the contruction of the bridge

Wrong: Father toll me that he did not intend buying the car Because it was very expensive

Wrong: Father toll me that he did not intend buy the car Because it was very expensive

Correct: Father toll me that he did not intend to buy the car Because it was very expensive

Other verbs that follow by ‘to infinitive’ is as follows:

Agree	Ask	Attempt	Arrange
Claim	Appear	Come	Decide
Demand	Expect	Fail	Forget
Hope	Hesitate	Intend	Learn
Manage	Mean	Need	Offer
Plan	Prepare	Pretend	Promise
Regret	Refuse	Swear	Tend
Threaten			Want

2.      Verb + Gerund

In addition followed by infinitive verb that functions as a complement, there are also some verbs that must be followed verb-ing/gerund as a complement verb / auxiliary verb.

Example :

Wrong: The man denied the take all the money in this drawer

Wrong: The man denied to take all the money in this drawer

Correct: The man denied taking all the money in this drawer

Another verb which is followed by verb-ing/gerund are as follows:

Admit	Advice	Anticipate	Appreciate
Avoid	Complete	Consider	Discuss
Dislike	Delay	Deny	Enjoy
Finish	Can’t help	Keep	Mention
Mind	Miss	Postpone	Practice
Quit	Recall	Recollect	Recommend
Regret	Resent	Resist	Tolerate