In grammar, a subject complement is a phrase or clause that follows a linking verb (copula) and complements, or completes, the subject of the sentence by either (1) renaming it or (2) describing it. The former, a renaming noun (or sometimes a pronoun), is technically called a predicate noun or predicate nominative (or in some cases, a predicate pronoun). The latter, a describing adjective, is called a predicate adjective. In other words the predicate nominative is in a way mirroring the subject.

Subject complements are used only with a class of verbs called linking verbs or copulative verbs, of which to be is the most common. Unlike object complements, subject complements are not affected by the action of the verb, and they describe or explain the subject.

Examples of sentences with subject complements:

The lake was a tranquil pool.

"Was" is a linking verb that links the subject complement (predicate noun modified by an adjective) "tranquil pool" to the subject "lake."

The lake is tranquil.

"Tranquil" is a predicate adjective linked through the verb "is."^[1]

Contents 1 It is I/It is me 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] It is I/It is me

Both "It is I" and "It is me" have been common in English usage for centuries, the former tending to be used in more formal contexts, and there has been considerable debate among grammarians about which is "correct":

From the beginning in the 18th century, there were two camps. The earlier, apparently, is represented by Priestley 1761 [The Rudiments of English Grammar], who favors accepting it is me on grounds of custom... Lowth 1762 [A Short Introduction to English Grammar] heads the partisans of it is I, who clearly had Priestley outnumbered: Baker 1770, Campbell 1776, and Lindley Murray 1795 were on the side of the nominative. And these were the commentators whose preachments were accepted as gospel by the schoolmasters.^[2]

This preference could be due to the model of Latin, where the complement of the copula is in the nominative case.^[3] The practice of trying to model grammars of English on that of Latin has, however, fallen out of favor, and linguists today describe each language on its own terms.

Fiction writers have occasionally pointed out the "mistakes" of their characters in an authorial comment. In "The Curse of the Golden Cross," for example, G. K. Chesterton writes, "'He may be me,' said Father Brown, with cheerful contempt for grammar." And in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis writes, "'Come out, Mrs. Beaver. Come out, Sons and Daughters of Adam. It's all right! It isn't Her!' This was bad grammar of course, but that is how beavers talk when they are excited."

[edit] See also

• Clefting
• Copula (linguistics)
• Disjunctive pronoun
• Disputed English grammar
• English personal pronouns
• Predicate (grammar)
• Predicative (adjectival or nominal)

[edit] References

1. ^ UCalgary
2. ^ The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage (Merriam-Webster, 1989), pp. 566-67.
3. ^ Peter V. Jones and Keith C. Sidwell, An Independent Study Guide to Reading Latin (Cambridge University Press, 2000: ISBN 0521653738), p. 11.

[edit] External links

• AUE: FAQ excerpt