Verb Patterns | Part II

Subject + verb + object + complements

Some transitive verbs are followed by an object and an object complement.

The people wanted to crown Caesar king.
They named the baby Christopher.
You may call it what you will.
They chose him their leader.

Note that in the examples given above, the complement of the object is a noun or noun equivalent. The preposition as or for is sometimes used with verbs elect and chose, but not with the others.

Whom will they chose for their leader?
I wonder whom they will elect as President.

Consider the examples given below.

The noise drove him mad.
He painted the car red.
We found the house empty.
We consider the matter very important.

Here the complement of the object is an adjective. Sometimes to be is used before the complement.

I consider the plan (to be) unwise.
Most people supposed him (to be) innocent.
I knew him to be conscientious.
They have proved themselves (to be) worthy of our trust.

Subject + be + complement

The verb be is followed by a subject complement. The subject complement may be a noun, an adjective, an adverb or an adverbial phrase.

He is an engineer.
They are our friends.
The play was interesting.
He is in the next room.
God is everywhere.

Some intransitive verbs are also followed by subject complements.

She remained a spinster.
The crowd turned violent.
That sounds funny.
I felt miserable.
He went abroad.

Sections in this article

Tenses
Tense rules - overview
The simple present tense
The present progressive tense
The present perfect tense
The present perfect progressive tense
Present tenses to talk about the future
The simple past tense
The past progressive tense
The past perfect tense
Correct use of the past perfect tense
The past perfect progressive tense
Past verb forms with present or future meaning
The simple future tense
The future progressive tense
The future perfect tense
Tenses in subordinate clauses

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