Subjects, Finite Verbs, and Complements -- Exercise #12

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Finding Subjects, Finite Verbs, and Complements
Practice Exercise # 12

Directions:
1. First place parentheses ( ) around every prepositional phrase.
2. Underline every subject once, every finite verb twice, and label complements (PA, PN, IO or DO). [Reminder: A predicate adjective describes the subject; a predicate noun "equals" the subject; an indirect object is someone or thing "to" or "for" whom (or what) the action of the verb is performed. Any other complement has to be a direct object.]

The text is:

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer. For several evenings at bedtime, she would repeat after me the lines of the prayer. Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into temptation," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Note: In creating these pages, I cannot create a double underline. I will therefore underline both subjects and finite verbs once, but subjects will be in green; finite verbs in blue.

Sentence #1

Work your way through the text one sentence at a time. The first sentence is:

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer.

There are no prepositional phrases, so we look for a finite verb or verb phrase, which we find in "had been teaching."

I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer.

Find the subject of "had been teaching" by asking "Who or what had been teaching?"

Ihad been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer.

Check for a complement by asking "I had been teaching whom or what?" In this sentence, we get both a whom and a what. Since the sentence means "I had been teaching the Lord's Prayer to my three-year-old daughter, "daughter" is an indirect object. The "Lord's Prayer" answers the question "Had been teaching what?" Since it neither describes nor is equal to the subject ("I"), it must be a direct object.

Ihad been teaching my three-year old daughter (IO), Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer (DO).

Next check for another finite verb or verb phrase. There are none so we are finished with this sentence.

Sentence #2

First identify all the prepositional phrases: [Review this.]

(For several evenings) (at bedtime), she would repeat (after me) the lines (of the prayer).

With the prepositional phrases out of the way, find a finite verb or verb phrase:

(For several evenings) (at bedtime), she would repeat (after me) the lines (of the prayer).

Find the subject of "would repeat" by asking "Who or what would repeat?" The answer is "she."

(For several evenings) (at bedtime), shewould repeat (after me) the lines (of the prayer).

Check for a complement by asking "She would repeat whom or what?" The answer to that question is "lines." To determine the type of the complement:

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "Lines" does not describe the subject ("she"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "Lines" and the subject ("she") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? The sentence does not mean she would repeat "to" or "for" the lines, so it cannot be an indirect object.
4. Thus this complement has to be a direct object, the only option left.

(For several evenings) (at bedtime), shewould repeat (after me) the lines (DO)

(of the prayer).

Check for another finite verb or verb phrase. There are none, so we are finished with this sentence.

Sentence #3

The third sentence has no prepositional phrases. [Review this.]

Finally, she decided to go solo.

Next look for a finite verb or verb phrase. Some students will probably want to consider "decided to go" as a finite verb phrase, but I'm going to go with the more traditional explanation.

Finally, she decided to go solo.

Find the subject of "decided" by asking "Who or what decided?" The answer here is "she."

Finally, shedecided to go solo.

Check for a complement by asking "She decided whom or what?" The answer to that question is "to go." To determine the type of the complement:

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "To go" does not describe the subject ("she"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "To go" and the subject ("she") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? The sentence does not mean that she decided "to" or "for" to go, so it cannot be an indirect object.
4. Thus this complement has to be a direct object, the only option left.

Finally, shedecidedto go(DO) solo.

Next check for another finite verb or verb phrase. There are none so we are finished with this sentence.

Sentence #4

First identify all the prepositional phrases: [Review this.]

I listened (with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word, right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

With the prepositional phrases out of the way, find a finite verb or verb phrase: The first finite verb in the sentence is "listened."

I listened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word, right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Find the subject of "listened" by asking "Who or what listened?" The answer here is "I."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word, right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Check for a complement by asking "I listened whom or what?" Nothing answers this question, so there is no complement.
Next check for another finite verb or verb phrase. We find one in "enunciated."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word, right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Find the subject of "enunciated" by asking "Who or what enunciated?" The answer here is "she."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word, right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Check for a complement by asking "She enunciated whom or what?" The answer to that question is "word." To determine the type of the complement:

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "Word" does not describe the subject ("she"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "Word" and the subject ("she") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? The sentence does not mean that she enunciated "to" or "for" each word, so it cannot be an indirect object.
4. Thus this complement has to be a direct object, the only option left.

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word (DO), right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Next check for another finite verb or verb phrase. We find one in "Lead."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word (DO), right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Lead us not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Find the subject of "Lead" by asking "Who or what lead?" The answer here is an understood "you." [You can insert this as "*You*," or you can leave it as is. In either case, remember that "You lead" still counts as an S/V/C pattern.
Check for a complement by asking "You lead whom or what?" The answer to that question is "us." To determine the type of the complement:

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "Us" does not describe the subject ("*You*"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "Us" and the subject ("*You*") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? The sentence does not mean you lead "to" or "for" us, so it cannot be an indirect object.
4. Thus this complement has to be a direct object, the only option left.

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word (DO), right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Leadus(DO) not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Next check for another finite verb or verb phrase. We find one in "prayed."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word (DO), right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Leadus(DO) not (into temptation)," she prayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Find the subject of "prayed" by asking "Who or what prayed?" The answer here is "she."

Ilistened(with pride) as she carefully enunciated each word (DO), right (up to the end) (of the prayer): "Leadus(DO) not (into temptation)," sheprayed, "but deliver us some E-mail. Amen."

Check for a complement by asking "She prayed whom or what?" The answer to that question involves clauses, so I am not expecting you to be able to get it at this level. [If you want it now, see the explanation of clauses.]
We need to check for another finite verb or verb phrase. We find one in "deliver."

Find the subject of "deliver" by asking "Who or what deliver?" The answer here is an understood "you." [You can insert this as "*You*," or you can leave it as is. In either case, remember that "You deliver" still counts as an S/V/C pattern.
Check for a complement by asking "You deliver whom or what?" Both "us" and "E-mail" answer that question, so we'll begin with "us." To determine the type of the complement:

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "Us" does not describe the subject ("*You*"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "Us" and the subject ("*You*") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? In this case, the sentence does mean you deliver some E-mail "to" us, so "us" is an indirect object.

What type of complement is "E-mail"?

1. Is it a predicate adjective? "E-mail" does not describe the subject ("*You*"), so it cannot be a predicate adjective.
2. Is it a predicate noun? "E-mail" and the subject ("*You*") do not refer to the same thing, they are not "equal," so the complement cannot be a predicate noun.
3. Is it an indirect object? The sentence does not mean you deliver us "to" or "for" some E-mail, so it cannot be an indirect object.
4. Thus this complement has to be a direct object, the only option left.

There are no more finite verbs, so we are finished with this sentence.

Go to Finding Clauses.