Clause Elements

The function of words and phrases tells us what 'job' they are doing in any particular context. There are five different functions words and phrases can fulfil - linguistically speaking, we say they can appear as one of the five clause elements:

VERB (V)

Verbs are the most important element of a sentence. All others may be omitted, as in imperatives such as 'Run!', but without the verb, a sentence cannot make sense. When talking about function, 'verb' is used to mean the entire verb phrase (the main verb and any auxiliaries it might have).

We drank lots of beer last night

SUBJECT (S)

The subject of a sentence is usually a noun phrase (which can be just a pronoun). It is usually the element that is performing whatever action is described by the verb, and generally appears before the verb in statements, and after the first verb in questions.

We drank lots of beer last night

OBJECT (O)

The object of a sentence is usually a noun phrase (which can be just a pronoun). It is usually the element that is 'on the receiving end' of whatever action is being described by the verb, and usually appears after the subject and verb in a sentence.

We drank lots of beer last night

Anything which directly receives the action of the verb is a direct object (Od): 'lots os beer' above is a direct object - it is the 'thing' that was drunk.

Anything that does not directly receive the action of the verb but is still somehow 'on the receiving end' is an indirect object (Oi):

 

My Mum gave my sister a large cheque

In the above example, 'my sister' is an indirect object, since she was not the thing that was given, but is, in a way, on the receiving end of the action of giving.

COMPLEMENT (C)

The complement is also usually a noun or pronoun. It looks and behaves very much like an object, with the distinction that it appears after some form of the verb 'to be' (and is therefore semantically co-referential with the subject - they ARE the same thing).

I am a student of English

ADVERBIAL (A)

A sentence can have one, or many, adverbial elements. Adverbials can be used in several different positions within the sentence, and express a range of meanings (time, place, manner, degree - like adverbs). Adverbials can be adverb phrases, prepositional phrases or even nouns and noun phrases. They can add information to a sentence, make a link between two parts of a sentence, or add a comment about what is being expressed.

We drank lots of beer last night