The Object of the Verbal Verbals are forms of verbs used as other parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives

or adverbs. In some cases a noun will follow the verbal and "receive" it. That noun is called the object of the verbal. As with other objects, it can be identified by asking what? or who? about the verbal. [In the following examples, the object of the verbal is bold and the verbal isunderlined.] Running the mile is a requirement for the course. o RUNNING is a verb used as a noun (a gerund) and MILE is the object of that verbal. Most doctors warn their patients to quit smoking. o You can find the object of the verbal by asking the question WHAT? about the verbal. e.g. TO QUIT what? SMOKING. Just to make it a bit more complicated, SMOKING is also a verbal. A gerund. Planning a surprise attack, the children hid behind their baby-sitter's chair. o The participle PLANNING modifies the subject (CHILDREN); but the object of PLANNING in other words, the thing "receiving" PLANNING is the object of the verbal, ATTACK. The contract offered the workers remains unsigned. o CONTRACT is the subject of the sentence and REMAINS is the verb. OFFERED is a participle modifying the subject. WORKERS is the object of that verbal. Sometimes the object of a verbal may be an entire clause rather than a single word. [In the following examples, the object of the verbal is bold and the verbal is underlined.] Hoping the child was still alive, the rescue crews dug through the rubble. o The participle HOPING modifies the subject (crews). The object of HOPING (i.e. the thing "receiving" HOPE) is the entire idea: THE CHILD WAS STILL ALIVE. Tamala never stopped to think she might be in danger. o TO THINK is an infinitive. Question: TO THINK WHAT? Answer: She might be in danger. Not every verbal has an object. Sometimes, verbals are followed by prepositional phrases. [In the following examples, the verbal is underlined and the prepositional phrase is bold.] Prepared for the worst, the neighbors waited outside of the burning house. o The participle PREPARED modifies the subject (neighbors). Rather than answering the question what, the information following the verbal describes PREPARED. In other words, what kind of prepared was it. Alan, described by most as a "fanatic," had his entire body tattooed green and gold An object complement is an adjective that forms part of verb. Examples (object complements in bold): To consider someone stupid To paint something purple To catch somebody stealing As each adjective complements the object of the verb, it is called an "object complement". Examples: I found the guard sleeping. object object complement I declare this centre open. [show me the object complement] object Interactive example: object complement

We all consider her unworthy.

Subject Complement A subject complement is usually a noun or an adjective that follows a verb like to be, to become, to appear, to feel, to look, to smell, to taste, etc. (These are called linking verbs.) Examples (subject complements in bold): Ben is a policeman. (is - linking verb) I am fine. (am - linking verb) That pie smells delicious. (smells - linking verb) Interactive example: Ella was a ghost. She appeared at 12 and looked stunning. [show me the subject complements] What Is An Appositive? An appositive is a noun that renames another noun or pronoun. We use them to add more information into our sentences and give more information about someone or something that we have already named. Quick Refresher: Remember that nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas, and pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.

Examples: Mr. Kimball, the principal, kicked me out of school! My mother, a lovely woman, baked cupcakes for my birthday. Henry, my little puppy, chewed my shoes apart while I was gone.

I said that these are nouns that rename another noun or pronoun. What do I mean by that? Well, let's look at that first example again. Mr. Kimball, the principal, kicked me out of school! Mr. Kimball is the subject of the sentence. It is also a noun. The word principal is renaming Mr. Kimball. It is a noun that gives us more information about Mr. Kimball, and we could even substitute principal for Mr. Kimball because they are both referring to the same person. Hence, principal is a noun that renames another noun, Mr.Kimball.