Dora Mofardin, Paula Jurković

Introduction to Syntax
University of Zadar
May 2019

MODIFICATION AND COMPLEMENTATION IN

ENGLISH SENTENCE

1. INTRODUCTION

Modification and complementation are two types of dependency between two sister nodes.
Modification is a one-way dependency while complementation is a two-way dependency. This
essay gives a more detailed description of these two types of relationship, and presents the cases in
which complementation and modification take place along with examples for each case.

2. MODIFICATION AND COMPLEMENTATION

Modification and complementation are two types of dependency between two sister nodes which
are both dominated by one by the same mother node (Burton-Roberts, 2011).

Modification is a one-way dependency which means that one sister node is dependant on the other
and it modifies it, but the other node is not dependant on the first one and can stand on its own
(Huddleston and Geoffrey, 2005). In a noun phrase 'our dogs' the word 'our' modifies the word
'dogs'. If we removed 'our' from this noun phrase the sentence in which this phrase appears would
still make sense, for example ''Our dogs ran happily'' would turn into ''Dogs ran happily''. On the
other hand, if we ommited 'dogs' it would result in an ill-formed sentence ''Our ran happily''. Since
'dogs' is an element which determines the type of the phrase, it is the head. The head is an
obligatory element, while 'our', which is a modifier, is optional. Other than single words, phrases
can also function as heads or as modifiers – for example, in 'our oldest dogs' the first node 'our'
modifies the second one which is also a noun phrase 'oldest dogs'.

Complementation is a two-way dependency (Burton-Roberts, 2011). This means that both sister
nodes are dependant on each other and both are obligatory. A phrase 'on the table' is an example of a
complement relationship. If we remove either constituent from the phrase, it can not give us a
grammatical sentence. Lets look at the sentence ''She put a plate on the table.'' – if we remove the
word 'on' the sentence goes ''She put a plate the table'', and if we remove the phrase 'the table' our
sentence says ''She put the plate on.''. Both of those sentences are ungrammatical. While the
constituents in modification are the head and the modifier, the constituents in complementation are
the head and the complement. The head of the phrase is a constituent that determines the type of the
phrase. In our case the head is the preposition 'on' and the phrase is a prepositional phrase.
Complements usually follow their heads, while modifiers can both precede or follow the head
(Burton-Roberts, 2011).

In graphic representation of modification and complementation the relationship between the head
and the complement is represented by a double arrow showing us that the constituents are both
dependant on each other. On the other hand, a relationship between a head and a modifier is
indicated by an arrow pointing from a modifier to the head since the modifier modifies the head.

2.1. EXAMPLES OF COMPLEMENTATION

2.1.1. Complementation between the subject and the predicate

The first type of this relationship we see while we first begin to divide a sentence into a noun phrase
and a verb phrase. The noun phrase has a function of a subject while a verb phrase has its function
of a predicate. Subject and prediate are dependant on each other and therefore make a complement
relationship. Both NP and VP are recquired to make a complete sentence, neither one can be
ommited (Burton-Roberts, 2011).

2.1.2. Complementation in prepositional phrases

Prepositional Phrases have two basic forms: prepositional phrase consisting only of a preposition
and a prepositional phrase in which a preposition is complemented by a noun phrase (Miller, 2002).
Prepositional phrases with noun phrases as complements are, for example 'trough the garden', 'at the
park', 'with me' etc. Noun phrases 'the garden', 'the park' and 'me' function as complements to the
prepositions 'trough', 'at' and 'with'. We can prove that the type of dependency is complementation
and not modification by simply removing one of the elements from the prepositional phrase: a
sentence 'I saw you at the park.' will not be gramatical if we remove the preposition, 'I saw you the
park.', or if we remove the noun phrase 'I saw you at.'

2.1.3. Complementation in verb phrases

Transitive, ditransitive, complex transitive and prepositional verbs are the verbs that recquire
complements. In fact, all verbs except for the intransitive verbs, recquire complements (Burton-
Roberts, 2011).
Transitive verb requires only a noun phrase to complement it. Some examples of the transitive verbs
are 'make', 'throw', 'spot', 'inspect' etc. The noun phrase that complements the lexical verb functions
as a direct object, for example 'He threw the ball', or 'I will see her soon'. The noun phrase that
complements the transitive verb is also said to be governed by that verb because the NP changes its
form to agree with the verb. If the noun wasnt governed by the verb the sentence 'I will se her soon'
would be ungrammatical 'I will se she soon'.
Intransitive verbs are a type of lexical verbs that recquire no complement (Huddleston and Geoffrey,
2005). Some of these verbs are 'dissappear', 'die', 'laugh' etc. Since it is impossible to die or
disappear someone or something, intransitive verbs are never followed by a complement and are
considered as complete verb phrases on their own.
Ditransitive verbs recquire two noun phrases to complement them (Huddleston and Geoffrey, 2005).
The most common examples of ditransitive verbs are 'give', 'send' and 'buy'. One of the two
complements functions as an indirect object, while other functions as a direct object. In the example
'He gave Mary ten dollars.', 'Mary' functions as the indirect object while 'ten dollars' functions as a
direct object.
Intensive verbs recquire only one complement which serves as a predicative. The complements can
take the form of an adjective phrase, a noun phrase and a prepositional phrase. Some of the
intensive verbs are become, seem, appear, look, feel, sound, but the most common intensive verb is
'be'. A simple example would be 'She is very funny' where 'very funny' complements the verb 'is'.
Complex transitive verbs, just like ditransitive verbs, recquire two complements, but one
complement serves as a direct object and the other as object predicative (Huddleston and Geoffrey,
2005). An example for this can be a sentencce 'They made him a president' where 'him' serves as a
direct object, and 'a president' as the predicative of the object.
Prepositional verbs are verbs complemented by a prepositional phrase (Burton-Roberts, 2011). In
the example 'She is waiting for him.' the verb waiting requires a preposition 'for' to complement it.
Without the preposition the sentence is incomplete: 'She is waiting him.'

2.1.4. Complementisers 'that' and 'whether'

Complementisers serve to introduce a new subordinate clause to the sentence (Miller, 2002). For
example 'I know that she is smart' is a sentence in which we have one subordinate clause, 'she is
smart', that follows the complementiser 'that'. We san easily spot that there aretwo clauses because
there are also two different verbs, 'know' and 'is'. The complementiser 'that' can be elipted which
means that we can remove it from the sentence. 'I know she is smart.' is still a gramatical sentence.

2.1.5. Functions of that- and whether-clauses

That-clauses can function as a complement to a transitive verb (Burton-Roberts, 2011). In the

example 'The critics noticed that the book had a missing chapter' we can see that the entire
subordinate clause 'the book had a missing chapter' serves as a complement to the verb 'noticed'.
Besides 'notice', other verbs that can take a clausal direct object are: think, remind, mean, ask,
know, worry, claim, remind, wonder, persuade, tell convince, warn, promise and inform. These
verbs can also complement noun phrases, for example, 'They noticed it.'.
Adjectives can also be complemented by a that- and whether-clauses. For example, 'I was happy
that you won the medal.' is a sentence that presents us with an adjective 'happy' and a that-clause
that complements it 'you won the medal'.
That- and whether-clauses can also serve as a complement to a noun in a noun phrase, for example,
'A rumour that she stole a purse was a lie.' . Here we have a noun phrase 'a rumour that she stole a
purse' in which a noun 'rumour' is complemented by a clause 'that she stole a purse'. Besides
'rumour', some other nouns that take a clause as a complement are fact, idea, news, claim, message,
rule, etc.
And lastly, clauses can function as a complement to a preposition in a prepositional phrase (Burton-
Roberts, 2011). If we take this sentence as an example, 'The question of whether we should set up a
website was raised.' we can see the clause 'whether we should set up a website' functioning as a
complement to the preposition 'of'. In the case of prepositional phrases, only whether-clause can
function as a complement to the preposition. If we try to combine the preposition with a that-clause
we will get an ungramatical sentence: 'the question of that...', 'concern about that...', 'depends on
that...', etc.

2.1.6. Functions of non-finite clauses

Non-finite clauses can function as a complement of the adjective in the adjective phrase (Burton-
Roberts, 2011). In the example 'The piano was impossible to move.' we have an ajdective
'impossible' and a non-finite clause 'to move' that complements it. The adjectives in the adjective
phrase can relate to either a subject or an object. In our sentence 'impossible' decsribes a piano that
is an object, but in a sentence 'He was too anxious to rest.' we have the adjective 'anxious'
describing the subject 'he'.
Next, the non-finite clause can complement the preposition in a prepositional phrase (Burton-
Roberts, 2011). Only -ing clauses can serve as a complement in a prepositional phrase. In the
example 'We became zombies through watching too much TV.' we can see the preposition 'through'
complemented by -ing clause 'watching too much TV'.
Another case of complementation is a dependency between a non-finite clause and a nout in the
noun phrase (Burton-Roberts, 2011). Non-finite clause serves as a complement to the noun. To
show this in an example, in a sentence 'His proposal to show us his holiday snaps was treated
politely' has a noun 'proposal' that is complemented by a non-finite clause 'to show us his holiday
snaps'.

2.2. EXAMPLES OF MODIFICATION

2.2.1. The modifier-head relation

The main difference when we speak of heads and modifiers, is that the head is an obligatory
element of a sentence, while a modifier is optional. In the example „rather dubious jokes“, a
modifier-head relation has a higher structure between the „rather dubious“ and „jokes“. As a whole,
„rather dubious“ is an optional element, a DEPENDENT MODIFIER due to the fact that it simply
cannot „stand“ on its own, while „jokes“,as a head, is obligatory. Not only words, but phrases also,
can function as heads as well as modifiers. This dependency is strictly one-way; modifiers depend
on the heads of the sentence. While some precede, other modifiers follow the heads which they
modify.

2.2.2. The modifier-head relation in nouns and Noun Phrases

When speaking of categories, it is the category of the head that determines the category of the
phrase as a whole. Consequently, the head noun in an NP determines the gender and the number of
the complete phrase, including the before mentioned modifier. While there may be multiple nouns
in one Noun Phrase, only one is considered the head. The constituents(modifiers) that modify the
head can be omitted without any larger changes to the original NP. For example:
Their extremely subtle tactics confuse me
Their tactics confuse me.
Tactics confuse me.

2.2.3. The modification- adjectives relation

Many adjectives have the possibility of a comparative and a superlative form, for example lazy-
lazier-the laziest. Other, irregular ones are modified with degree adverbs more and most, or less and
least, in order to give them a morphological form of a comparative or a superlative. Adjectives that
accept the -er/-est inflection or modification by degree adverbs are called gradable adjectives. Non-
gradable adjectives do not accept the -er/-est modification by degree adverb. Some examples of
non-gradable adjectives are: dead, atomic, right, medical, fatal, final, etc.

2.2.4. Modification in Adjective and Adverb Phrases

Adjective Phrases are centered on adjectives, and can consist only of an unmodified head, a basic
simple adjective, for example: rather dubious or too modest. When it comes to modification within
an AP, for example in the phrase Aldo’s quite delicious pizzas, the AP is quite delicious, and it
functions as the modifier of pizzas. Delicious is the adjective functioning as the head of the AP. On
the other hand, in Luigi’s inedible pizzas, the simple adjective functions both as the head and as the
complete modifier of pizzas, so it counts as a full Adjective Phrase as well as an adjective.
Some examples of general adverbs: frankly, potentionally,oddly, enthusiastically, etc.
General adverbs can be modify adjectives within Adjective phrases, for example oddly
inconclusive. However, general adverbs can themselves be modified by degree adverbs, to form
adverb phrases. For example, very oddly, quite frankly. Since modification of a general adverb by a
degree adverb is optional, an Adverb Phrase can consist of just a general adverb.

2.2.5. Pre-modifiers in NOM

The most obvious pre-modifiers of the noun within NOM are Adjective phrases. An adjective is
always dominated by Adjective Phrase. The function of the adjective is head-of-Adjective Phrase. It
is the Adjective Phrase that has the function of a modifier.

2.2.6. Nouns

Nouns themselves may act as pre-modifiers of nouns. Examples: chess piece, traffic light, roof
maintenance,carbon trader, computer game. .The relation between a head noun and a pre-
modifying noun is much closer than that between the head noun and any other pre-modifier. In a
sequence of modifiers that includes a noun modifier, noun modifiers always appear last. They
cannot be separated from the head noun:
some expensive roof maintenance
*some roof expensive maintenance
Post-modifiers; Prepositional Phrases and Adjective Phrases
If we use the Noun Phrase an expedition to the pub as an example, the head N is expedition and it is
modified by the PP to the pub, which consists of P + NP. In this case, we have a postmodifying
sister to the noun, within NOM.
In the example expedition for more cherry brandy modifies a constituent that has expedition as its
head – it’s an expedition for more cherry brandy. Now, expedition to the pub is a NOM. And
expedition to the pub for more cherry brandy is a NOM as well. So we have a NOM within a
NOM .
What happens when NOM includes both a pre-modifying AP and a post-modifying PP. There must
be as many NOMs as there are modifiers. So, with a pre-modifier and a post-modifier, there will be
two NOMs.
A few can pre-modify or post-modify the head noun in NOM:
the responsible men
the men responsible
the present members
the members present
As post-modifiers, APs occupy the same position in the structure of NOM as post-modifying PPs. A
difference in meaning is associated with this difference of position of the AP.
When, in an NP, a modifying AP includes a complement, it always postmodifies the head noun:
the chef responsible for the sauces
a stuntman happy in his job
*the responsible for the sauces chef
*a happy in his job stuntman
Within NOM, the head of a modifying phrase wants to be as close as possible to the head noun.
Modification of pronouns
Examples of pronouns combined with an AP within an NP:
something outrageous
anyone intelligent
someone in the crowd
no-one/none from the bank
Indefinite pronouns can only be POST-MODIFIED due to simple history.

2.2.7. Modifier in NP

There is not much to be said about modifiers in Nps except for that clausal modifiers in NPs are
relative clauses with a covert wh-phrase. They are restrictive only and thus modifiers of NOM in
NP.

3. CONCLUSION

While modification is a one-way dependency, and complementation is a two-way dependency

between two sister nodes, both of the nodes are dominated by the mother node. Both
complementation and modification are complex themes regarding syntax and morphology, but
nevertheless very important in order for one to understand the structure and dependency of more or
less complex phrases. There is a heavy amount of examples that can be given for both of these
themes, as they are almost endless sources of information regarding syntactic dependency.

4. REFERENCES

Burton-Roberts, Noel 2011, Analyzing Sentences, An Introduction to English Syntax. Third edition.
London: Longman.

Huddleston, Rodney & Geoffrey K. Pullum. 2005. A Student's Introduction to English Grammar.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Miller, Jim. 2002. An Introduction to English Syntax. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

(Burton-Roberts, 2011)