An object complement is a word or phrase that follows a direct object and identifies or describes it. It may express a role, a judgment, an existing quality, or a condition resulting from an action.
Consider:
The committee appointed Maya treasurer.
Maya is the direct object of appointed. Treasurer is the object complement because it identifies the role Maya was given.
Now compare:
The unexpected announcement left the audience confused.
Here, the audience is the direct object, while confused describes their resulting condition.
The common sentence pattern is:
Subject + Verb + Direct Object + Object Complement
A word appearing after a direct object isn’t necessarily an object complement. What matters is whether it identifies or describes that object through the verb.
Types of Object Complements
Object complements are commonly nouns, noun phrases, adjectives, or adjective phrases.
Nouns and Noun Phrases as Object Complements
A noun or noun phrase can identify the direct object by name, title, position, or role.
The explorers named the newly discovered island Hope Island.
The newly discovered island is the direct object. Hope Island is the object complement, giving the island its name.
A complement may also be a longer noun phrase.
The residents elected Daniel chairperson of the neighbourhood committee.
Chairperson of the neighbourhood committee identifies the position Daniel was elected to hold.
In these constructions, the object and its complement refer to the same person or thing.
Adjectives and Adjective Phrases as Object Complements
An adjective can describe the condition or quality of a direct object.
The heavy rain made the narrow pathway slippery.
Slippery describes the narrow pathway and functions as its object complement.
An object complement can also be an adjective phrase.
The reviewers considered the revised proposal far more practical than the original.
The full adjective phrase far more practical than the original expresses the reviewers’ assessment of the revised proposal.
The entire phrase functions as the complement, not just the word practical.
Verbs That Take Object Complements
Some verbs place an object complement directly after the object. Others express similar meanings using different constructions.
Naming or Assigning a Role
Verbs such as name, appoint, elect, and call can take noun complements identifying a person or thing.
Her friends call the old cottage the Blue House.
The Blue House is the name her friends use for the cottage.
The board appointed Rina regional coordinator.
Regional coordinator identifies the role assigned to Rina.
Expressing a Judgment
Verbs such as consider, find, judge, and deem can take adjective complements expressing an assessment.
The safety inspector found the staircase unsafe.
Unsafe describes the inspector’s assessment of the staircase.
The panel deemed the supporting evidence insufficient.
Insufficient expresses the panel’s judgment about the evidence.
These sentences report an assessment rather than necessarily describing a change caused by the subject.
Causing or Maintaining a Condition
Some verbs describe a change in the direct object’s condition or a condition that continues.
The new insulation kept the attic completely dry.
Completely dry is an adjective phrase describing the condition maintained in the attic.
The long journey left the passengers exhausted.
Exhausted describes the passengers’ condition after the journey.
When the Verb Uses As or To Be
Verbs with similar meanings don’t always follow the same grammatical pattern.
Compare:
The reviewers considered the plan impractical.
The reviewers regarded the plan as impractical.
The reviewers considered the plan to be impractical.
All three express a negative assessment of the plan, but their constructions differ.
With consider, an adjective can follow the direct object without an intervening word. Regard normally uses as in this meaning, while consider can also take a to be construction.
| Verb pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Consider + object + adjective | They considered the plan impractical. |
| Regard + object + as + adjective | They regarded the plan as impractical. |
| Consider + object + to be + adjective | They considered the plan to be impractical. |
The adjective describes the plan in each example, but the larger constructions are not grammatically identical. In particular, to be impractical is an infinitival construction rather than a simple adjective complement.
The useful distinction is that changing the verb may also require changing the words that follow it.
How to Identify an Object Complement
To identify an object complement, first find the direct object. Then check whether another expression identifies or describes that object through the verb.
Consider:
The committee considered the proposed changes unnecessary.
The proposed changes is the direct object. Unnecessary expresses the committee’s judgment about them.
The relationship can be expressed as:
The proposed changes are unnecessary.
This is a useful clue, but the position of an expression after the object isn’t enough to identify its function.
Compare:
The editor found the manuscript incomplete.
The editor found the manuscript yesterday.
In the first sentence, incomplete describes the manuscript’s condition and functions as an object complement.
In the second, yesterday tells us when the editor found the manuscript. It is a temporal adverbial, not an object complement.
Does Removing the Complement Change the Sentence?
Removing an object complement may change the meaning or leave a different use of the verb.
The committee considered the proposal unreasonable.
The committee considered the proposal.
Both sentences are grammatical, but the second doesn’t express the same judgment. It can mean that the committee examined or discussed the proposal.
With other verbs, removing the complement simply leaves out information about the result.
The decorators painted the kitchen walls pale green.
The decorators painted the kitchen walls.
Both are grammatical. Only the first tells us what colour the walls became.
An object complement doesn’t have to be essential to every use of a verb. Its function depends on the construction in which it appears.
Object Complement vs. Indirect Object
An object complement identifies or describes a direct object. An indirect object typically identifies a recipient or beneficiary in a two-object construction.
Compare:
The chef made the guests a special dessert.
The chef made the guests uncomfortable.
The verb made appears in both sentences, but the grammatical relationships differ.
In the first, the guests is the indirect object, while a special dessert is the direct object. The chef prepared something for the guests.
In the second, the guests is the direct object. Uncomfortable describes their resulting condition and functions as an object complement.
A special dessert is something separate from the guests. Uncomfortable describes the guests themselves.
Object Complement vs. Subject Complement
Both subject complements and object complements can identify or describe someone or something. The difference is which element they relate to.
Compare:
The courtyard became quiet.
The caretaker kept the courtyard quiet.
In the first sentence, quiet describes the subject, the courtyard. It is a subject complement.
In the second, the courtyard is the direct object of kept. Quiet describes that object, making it an object complement.
Object Complement vs. Ordinary Modifiers
A descriptive word near a direct object isn’t necessarily an object complement. It may modify a noun within the object phrase or describe the action itself.
Consider three sentences:
| Sentence | Grammatical function |
|---|---|
| They painted the old gate. | Old modifies gate within the direct-object noun phrase. |
| They painted the gate bright yellow. | Bright yellow is an object complement describing the resulting colour. |
| They painted the gate carefully. | Carefully describes how they painted. It is an adverbial. |
The difference becomes clearer when the same descriptive word appears in different positions.
Compare:
The inspector found the damaged gate.
The inspector found the gate damaged.
In the first sentence, damaged modifies gate within the direct-object noun phrase.
In the second, the gate is the direct object, and damaged describes its condition when the inspector found it. It functions as an object complement.
The position of a descriptive word can help, but its grammatical relationship with the object provides the more reliable distinction.
Object Complements in Longer Sentences
An object complement may follow a direct object that contains descriptive material of its own.
Consider:
The safety panel considered the repairs carried out after the inspection inadequate for the building’s needs.
The main verb is considered.
| Expression | Grammatical function |
|---|---|
| the safety panel | Subject |
| considered | Main verb |
| the repairs carried out after the inspection | Direct object |
| inadequate for the building’s needs | Object complement |
The complete direct object is the repairs carried out after the inspection. The words carried out after the inspection identify which repairs the panel assessed.
The object complement is inadequate for the building’s needs. This adjective phrase expresses the panel’s judgment about those repairs.
The underlying relationship is:
The repairs were inadequate for the building’s needs.
Although the direct object contains its own descriptive material, inadequate for the building’s needs remains a separate complement describing that entire object.
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