Subject, Verb, Complement and Modifier

Subject

The Subject is the agent of the sentence in the active Voice, Subject is the person or thing that does the action of the sentence, and subject normally precedes the verb.

Note: Every sentence in English must have a Subject

e.g. Coffee is delicious

Milk contains calcium The subject may be a noun phrase. A noun phrase is  a group of words ending with a noun. (it CANNOT  begin with a preposition).

e.g. The book is on the table That new red car is John’s

            In some sentences there is not a true subject. However it

and there can often act as pseudo-subjects and should be

considered as subjects.

e.g. It is a nice day today

               There was a fire in that building last month

Verb

The Verb follows the subject, it generally shows the action

of the sentence.

Note: Every sentence must have a verb

e.g. John drives too fast They hate spinach

The verb may be a verb phrase. A verb Phrase

consists of one or more auxiliaries and one main

verb. The auxiliaries always precede the main verb.

e.g. John is going to Miami tomorrow

                (auxiliary is; main verb going)

                Jane has been reading that book

                (auxiliary has, been; main verb reading)

Complement

A complement completes the verb. It is similar to

the subject because it is usually a noun or noun

phrase, However, it generally follows the verb

when the sentence is in the active voice.

Note:Every sentence does not require a complement.

The complement CANNOT begin with a preposition.

e.g. He was smoking a cigarette

                John bought a cake yesterday

Modifier

Modifier tells the time, place or manner of the action.

Very often it is a prepositional Phrase.

Prepositional Phrase is a group of words that begins

with a preposition and ends with a noun.

Note: A modifier of time usually comes last if more

than one modifier is present.

e.g. of prepositional phrases

            in the morning, at the university, on the table

A modifier can also be an adverb or an adverbial phrase: Last night, hurriedly, next year, outdoors, yesterday

e.g. John bought a book at the bookstore

                                          ^{modifier of place}

                Jill was swimming in the pool yesterday

                                        ^{modifier of place       modifier of time}

Note:

The modifier normally follows the complement, but not

always. However, the modifier, especially when it is a

prepositional phrase, usually cannot separate the verb

and the complement.

e.g. She drove the car on the street

                    ^{verb     complement}

reference : http://diah_aw.staff.gunadarma.ac.id/Downloads