(subject)+(be verb)+(subject complement [noun phrase])

identify the subject and be verb of each sentence—as well as the adverbial, subject complement [adj.], or subject complement [noun phrase].

1. my neighbor is uncommonly thrifty.

2. the oldsmobile was on its last legs

3. celia is the ceo of a large multinational corporation.

4. the last performance of death of a salesman was on friday.

5. the plumber will be here soon.

1. (subject)+(linking verb)+(subject complement [np or adj.])

identify the subject, linking verb, and subject complement (noun phrase or adjective) of each sentence.

1. the taxi driver seemed like a nice man.

2. the inside of the bakery smells delicious.

3. on that day, francis became a criminal.

4. it sounds like a good idea!

5. ms. yeziersky became a schoolteacher.

Exercise 1

1. My neighbor is uncommonly thrifty.

My neighbor - subject

is - present tense of the verb to be

uncommonly - adverbial

thrifty - subject complement (adjective)

2. The Oldsmobile was on its last legs

The Oldsmobile - subject

was - past tense of the verb to be

on its last legs - adverbial

3. Celia is the CEO of a large multinational corporation.

Celia - subject

is - present tense of the verb to be

the CEO of a large multinational corporation - subject complement (noun phrase)

4. The last performance of Death of a Salesman was on Friday.

The last performance of Death of a Salesman - subject

was -  past tense of the verb to be

on Friday - adverbial

5. The plumber will be here soon.

The plumber - subject

will be - future tense of the verb to be

here - adverbial

soon - adverbial

Exercise 2

1. The taxi driver seemed like a nice man.

The taxi driver - subject

seemed - linking verb (past tense)

like a nice man - subject complement (noun phrase)

2. The inside of the bakery smells delicious.

The inside of the bakery - subject

smells - linking verb (present tense)

delicious - subject complement (adjective)

3. On that day, Francis became a criminal.

On that day - adverbial

Francis - subject

became - linking verb (past tense)

a criminal - subject complement (noun phrase)

4. It sounds like a good idea!

It - subject

sounds - linking verb (present tense)

like a good idea - subject complement (noun phrase)

5. Ms. Yeziersky became a schoolteacher.

Ms. Yeziersky - subject

became - linking verb (past tense)

a schoolteacher - subject complement (noun phrase)

In all examples, we have an equation:

subject = noun phrase (what?)

               adjective (how?)

               adverbial (when? where? how? etc.)

To define if a subject complement is a noun phrase or an adjective, we always think of the main word:

like a nice man (noun phrase because everything modifies the noun MAN)

uncommonly thrifty (uncommonly modifies thrifty so it is an adjective).

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