Writing Tips
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Index S
- Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
- Saint John
- Saint Johner
- Saint John River
- Salish
- Salishan
- Salish Sea
- same
- Sami
- sanction
- Sask.
- Saskatchewan
- Saskatchewaner
- Saskatchewanian
- satisfaction in
- satisfaction of
- satisfied with
- Saultite
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Scando-
- sceptic
- Scoto-
- scrutiny
- seasonable
- seasonably
- seasonal
- seasonally
- secure against
- secure from
- secure in
- seem
- segue
- Segway
- seismo-
- seldom
- seldomly
- semi-
- semi-annual
- semicolon
- sensual
- sensuous
- sentence fragment
- septic
- Serb
- Serbian
- Serbo-
- Serbo-Croatian
- serial commas
- serif fonts
- serve
- serve to illustrate
- service
- serviceable
- sesqui-
- set
- several different
- sex
- sharp
- sharply
- signed at
- signed in
- simile
- simple sentence
- sink
- sink down
- Sino-
- sit
- SK
- skijoring
- slippery slope
- so as an adverb
- socio-
- solstice
- somber
- sombre
- some
- somni-
- son-
- soni-
- sono-
- Sons of the Clergy Islands
- Soo
- sort of
- sorts of
- spacing
- spacing with periods
- spans of time
- speak
- specific example
- specter
- spectre
- speculate about
- speculate in
- speculate on
- speculate upon
- spelling: able/ible and ative/itive endings
- spelling: combinations with all
- spelling: final consonants doubled before a suffix
- spelling: frequently misspelled words
- spelling: international variations
- spelling: plurals of foreign nouns
- spelling: SI/metric units
- spelling: spell-checking
- spelling: verbs ending in ie
- spelling: verbs ending in sede
- spelling: words ending in a silent e
- spelling: words ending in c
- spelling: words ending in -ise and -ize
- spelling: words ending in n
- spelling: words ending in y
- spelling: words with ei and ie
- spring
- square brackets
- Stampede City
- standard time
- stanza
- start
- stationary
- stationery
- stay-at-home
- steal
- St. John’s
- St. John’san
- St. John’ser
- strata
- stratum
- streets and buildings: abbreviations and numbers
- sub-
- subject (1)
- subject (2)
- subject area
- subject complement
- subjected to
- subject predicate order
- subject to
- subordinating conjunctions
- subsequent
- subsequent to
- substitute for
- successful achievement
- successfully achieve
- sucr-
- sucro-
- sudden impulse
- suggest that
- suited for
- suited to
- summer
- summer time
- sum total
- super-
- supposably
- supposedly
- surprise
- surrounded
- surrounded on all sides
- Swedo-
- sym-
- sympathetic to
- sympathetic toward(s)
- sympathize with
- sympathy between
- sympathy for
- sympathy with
- syn-
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subject complement
A complement (spelled with an e) is something that completes. And a subject complement is something that completes our idea of the subject of a sentence by giving us more information about it. Usually, the subject complement is a noun, a pronoun or an adjective.
Location in the sentence
A subject complement is found in the predicate of a sentence (the part of the sentence that contains the verb and makes a statement about the subject).
The subject complement follows a linking verb (a verb that expresses a state of being). A verb of being is called a linking verb because it simply links the subject with the subject complement, without expressing any action. In a sentence with a linking verb and a subject complement, the subject is not doing anything; instead, the subject is being something.
Our most common linking verb is the verb be and its forms am, is, are, was, were, been and being. In addition, the verbs seem, appear, become, grow, look, feel, sound, smell and taste can all act as linking verbs.
Examples
Here are some examples of sentences with linking verbs and subject complements:
- Jan is an excellent doctor.
Here, the subject complement is the noun doctor (along with its modifiers an excellent), which tells us something about the subject Jan; the verb is simply links them without expressing any action.
- The winners of the bubble-tea-drinking contest are you and Wang.
In the above example, the pronoun you and the noun Wang are the subject complements identifying the subject winners; the verb are simply links them without expressing any action.
- Arabella’s recipe for turnip cordial tasted unusual.
Here, the subject complement unusual is an adjective describing the subject recipe; the verb tasted simply links them without expressing any action.
- The players seem excited about the upcoming game.
In this last example, the subject complement excited is an adjective describing the subject players; the verb seem simply links them without expressing any action.
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