Required and Optional Elements in English Sentences (Complements and Adjuncts)

Drawing on the sources and our conversation history, let’s explore the concept of Required and Optional Elements in English Sentences, referred to as Complements and Adjuncts.

Understanding these elements is fundamental to grasping what makes a sentence grammatical and complete. It’s an important aspect of understanding the underlying rules for producing grammatical sentences and can significantly improve your confidence in writing and speaking.

The sources introduce two main types of elements based on their necessity within a sentence structure:

1. Complements: These are elements that are considered required or indispensable.
2. Adjuncts: These are elements that are considered optional or dispensable.

Let’s look at each type in more detail:

Complements (Required Elements)

Complements are described as essential, structurally indispensable parts of a sentence, clause or a phrase. Their presence is crucial for the sentence to be grammatically complete.

• Indispensability: You cannot remove a complement from a sentence. When a complement is missing, it makes the sentence incomplete and ungrammatical. For example:
  • “Raju needs for his exam.” – This sentence is incomplete because it is missing an object (what Raju needs), which is a complement of the verb “needs”.
  • “Ramu eats after dinner.” – This is incomplete; it’s missing an object (what Ramu eats).
  • “She reads in the morning.” – This sentence is incomplete as it lacks an object (what she reads).
• Relationship with Verbs: Objects of verbs are complements. The existence of objects is contingent upon the nature of the verb; for instance, transitive verbs require objects, while intransitive verbs do not. This close relationship means objects are part of the verb phrase and act as complements of the verb.
• Positioning: Complements are always close to their heads (the words they are complements of).
• Quantity: You can typically have only one complement for a sentence or phrase, although a verb can sometimes take two objects, allowing a maximum of two complements. You cannot, for instance, have two complements like “the King of England of France”.
• Subject and Predicate: Beyond just complements of verbs, the subject and predicate are identified as the two required elements or components of every English sentence.

Adjuncts (Optional Elements)

Adjuncts are described as optional entities. They are structurally dispensable elements of a sentence, a clause or a phrase.

• Dispensability: You can remove an adjunct from a sentence without structurally affecting its formation. The absence of adjuncts does not structurally make a sentence ungrammatical.
• Function: Adjuncts often modify or describe other parts of the sentence, such as the verb, the predicate, or other elements.
• Relationship with Verbs: Unlike complements, the existence of adjuncts is not contingent upon the nature of the verb. While they may modify the verb, they are not as directly tied to it as objects are.
• Types: Adverbs are adjuncts. Prepositional phrases can also function as adjuncts, providing additional information. Adverbial clauses are adjuncts that provide additional information.
• Examples:
  • In “John likes pizza with his friends,” the phrase “with his friends” is an adjunct. It adds information but the sentence “John likes pizza” is complete without it.
  • In “Raju needs a pen for his exam,” the phrase “for his exam” is an adjunct. The sentence “Raju needs a pen” is grammatically complete without it.
  • In “Seema reads in the morning,” the phrase “in the morning” is an adjunct modifying the verb “reads”. The sentence requires an object (a complement) to be complete (“She reads what”), but “in the morning” is optional information about when she reads.
  • In “Raju helped Ramu in the morning,” “in the morning” is an adjunct modifying the verb “helped”.
• Positioning: Adjuncts stay from the head (the word they modify), contrasting with the close positioning of complements.
• Quantity: A sentence or phrase can have multiple adjuncts. For instance, “Raju helped Ramu in the morning after breakfast” contains two adjuncts modifying the verb “helped”.

Key Distinction Summary

The fundamental difference is structural necessity:

• Complements are structurally indispensable; their absence creates an incomplete or ungrammatical sentence. They are typically close to the word they complete or are required by, and there is usually only one (or a maximum of two).
• Adjuncts are structurally dispensable; they provide additional, optional information and can be removed without making the sentence ungrammatical. They tend to be positioned further away from the word they modify, and multiple adjuncts can appear in a single sentence or phrase.

Understanding this distinction is crucial for analysing sentence structure and developing grammatical accuracy and confidence in using English. The sources recommend practicing by identifying complements and adjuncts in sentences.