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What is an object plugin? (with examples)
An object complement is a noun, pronoun, or adjective that follows a direct object to rename it or indicate what it has become.
Verbs That Attract Object Complements
Los verbos de hacer (p. ej.,“do“,“to create“) or name (eg,“to name“,“to call“,“to choose“) often attract an object complement. In the examples below, object complements are shaded and direct objects are in bold.
- To make her happy
- To name her Heidi
However, many verbs can take an object complement. For example:
- To consider someone stupid
- To paint something purple
- To catch somebody stealing
Examples of Object Complements
Here are some more examples of object plugins:
- I found the guard sleeping.
- We all consider her unworthy.
- I declare this centre open.
- We consider fish spoiled once it smells like what it is.
- To obtain a man’s opinion of you, make him mad. (Physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes)
Un complemento de objeto no siempre es una palabra. Podría ser una frase. Por ejemplo:
- I found the guard sleeping in the barn.
- We all consider her unworthy of the position.
Other Types of Complements
If you’re learning about object complements, it’s worth comparing them to subject complements. A subject complement is a word or phrase that follows a linking verb and identifies or describes the subject. For example (subject complements in bold):
- John is the captain.
- Myra looks angry.
(In these examples,“the captain“and“angry“are the subject complements. They follow linking verbs (“is“and“looks“) to tell us about the subjects (“John“and“Myra“.)
Now compare the subject complements above with the object complements in the similar examples below. (In these examples, objects are bold and object complements are shaded.)
- We named John the captain.
- We made Myra angry.
(The verbs are“named“and“made.“The object complements tell us about the objects of the verbs (“John“and“Myra“).)
Why Should I Care about Object Complements?
Native English speakers have little trouble using constructions like“to make them happy“o“to consider that the work is finished“. Such constructions also do not cause too much difficulty for English learners. However, if you are learning a foreign language (such as Russian) that puts its complements in a different case (the instrumental case in the case of Russian), then you should pay more attention to complement detection.
For native English speakers, the biggest object-related spelling problem most commonly occurs with subject complements, but can also occur with object complements.
(Issue 1) Don’t use an adverb as a complement.
A complement is an adjective, noun or pronoun. Never is an adverb. Look at this example:
- The garlic has made the soup awfully. ❌
(An object complement cannot be an adverb.) - The garlic has made the soup awful. ✔️
(Here, the object complement is an adjective.)
This is a rare bug with object plugins. It is much more common with subject complements. For example:
- The soup tastes awfully. ❌
(A subject complement cannot be an adverb.) - The soup tastes awful. ✔️
(Here, the subject complement is an adjective.)
Ironically, this mistake most commonly occurs with people who consciously think about whether they should use adjectives or adverbs.
Key Point
Your complement can’t be an adverb.
- She looks amazingly. ❌
- She looks amazing. ✔️
