Object Complements vs
Subject Complements

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I caught the thief stealing the money.

"The thief" is the direct object and "stealing the money" is the object complement in this sentence.

Everybody wanted him to join the club.

"him" is the direct object and "to join the club" is the object complement in this sentence.

Subject Complements

They are words or group of words that follow and modify a linking verb in a sentence.

Example:

My father is an engineer and he is so good at it.

"Engineer" and "so good" are subject complements that modify the subject "my father" and the linking verb here is "to be".

Note: there are two types of subject complements:

Predicate adjective and predicate noun

In the example above "so good" is a predicate adjective that refers to the subject "my father" however; "engineer" is a predicate noun that refers to the subject "my father".

Some mostly used linking verbs are:

To be / to become / to look / to smell / to feel / to taste / /to grow / to seem / to sound to appear etc.


The storm became stronger.
The pillows feel soft.
The sky looks clear.
The cake smells good.
The bread tastes sweet.
His idea sounds sensible.

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