Objects and Complements

The objects and complements a verb takes: give her a book, make me happy, put it on the table. Two objects put the person first, or last after to or for: He gave her a book. He gave a book to her.

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CheatsheetB2–C1

Point	Rule	Example
Two objects	person first, or last after to or for	He gave her a book. / He gave a book to her.	B2
To or for	to after give, send, show; for after buy, make, cook	She sent a card to him. / He made a cake for her.	B2
Object and complement	the object takes an adjective, a noun or as and a noun	This makes me happy. / They elected him president. / They regard him as a hero.	B2
Both ways	break, open, start, move: with an object or without	The window broke. / He broke the window.	B2
Pairs	rise, lie and arrive take no object; raise, lay and reach need one	Prices rise. / They raise prices.	B2
Reciprocal	meet, marry and kiss take the other person directly	We met. / I met him.	B2
Object and ‑ing	catch, find, keep and leave take an object and an ‑ing form	I caught him stealing. / Don't keep me waiting.	C1
Result	an adjective after the object says how the action leaves it	She wiped the table clean. / He shouted himself hoarse.	C1
Adverbial	put, live, last and cost need a place, a time or an amount	Put it on the table. / It costs five pounds.	C1
Fake objects	a noun from the verb's own root, or it with no meaning	She lived a happy life. / They hit it off.	C1
Trap	explain, suggest and say take the person after to	She explained the rule to me.	B2
Trap	last takes a length of time directly, with no for	The film lasts two hours.	C1

OverviewB2

Pattern	Verb	Example
subject + verb	intransitive verb	He arrived. / The window broke.	B2
subject + verb + complement	linking verb	She became a doctor. / It looks tired.	B2
subject + verb + object	transitive verb	She bought a car.	B2
subject + verb + indirect object + direct object	verb with two objects	He gave her a book.	B2
subject + verb + object + complement	verb with object and complement	They elected him president. / This makes me happy.	B2

A complement describes or renames the subject or the object; an object is a different person or thing. She became a doctor. / She called a doctor.
The most common linking verb is be: see To be.

Form: two objectsB2

With	Verbs	Person first	Person last
to	give, send, show, lend, offer, pay, tell, teach, bring, sell	She sent him a card.	She sent a card to him.	B2
for	buy, make, cook, find, get, save, order	He made her a cake.	He made a cake for her.	B2

When the thing is a pronoun, the person follows it with to or for. She gave it to him. / I bought them for her.
The longer or newer object comes last. She gave him the letter. / She gave the letter to the tall man by the door.

Verbs that take only toB2

Verbs	Example
explain, describe	She explained the rule to me.	B2
suggest, propose	I suggested a hotel to them.	B2
say, announce, mention, report	They announced the news to everyone.	B2
introduce	Let me introduce my sister to you.	B2

These verbs put the person after the thing, with to. Can you explain it to me?

Form: object and complementB2

Verbs	Complement	Example
make, keep, leave, drive, find, consider, think	adjective	This makes me happy. / Keep the door closed. / I find it difficult.	B2
call, name, appoint, elect	noun	They elected him president. / We named the baby Leo.	B2
regard, treat, see, describe	as + noun or adjective	They regard him as a hero. / She described the plan as risky.	B2

make also takes a noun complement. They made him captain.

Compare: with and without an objectB2

Verb	No object	With an object
break	The window broke.	He broke the window.	B2
open	The door opened.	She opened the door.	B2
close	The shop closed early.	They closed the shop early.	B2
start	The film started.	He started the car.	B2
move	The bus moved.	She moved the chair.	B2
sink	The boat sank.	The storm sank the boat.	B2
rise / raise	The sun rises early.	They raise prices every year.	B2
lie / lay	The book lies on the table.	Lay the book on the table.	B2
arrive / reach	We arrived at the hotel.	We reached the hotel.	B2

The past of lie is lay; the past of lay is laid. She lay on the sofa. / She laid the book down.
A few verbs always need an object: bring, put and make. She brought a cake.
Some verbs take their noun after a preposition: depend on, listen to, wait for. It depends on the weather.

Reciprocal verbsB2

Verb	Both as subject	One as object
meet	We met in Paris.	I met him in Paris.	B2
marry	They married in June.	She married a pilot.	B2
fight	They fought all night.	He fought his brother.	B2
kiss	They kissed.	She kissed him.	B2
hug	They hugged.	He hugged his mother.	B2

These verbs take the other person directly, with no preposition.

Form: object with to be or ‑ingC1

Verbs	Pattern	Example
consider, find	verb + object + (to be) + complement	I consider him (to be) honest. / We found the room (to be) too small.	C1
believe, assume, know	verb + object + to be + complement	I believe him to be honest. / They assumed the figures to be correct.	C1
catch, find	verb + object + ‑ing	I caught him stealing. / We found the dog sleeping in my bed.	C1
keep, leave	verb + object + ‑ing	Don't keep me waiting. / She left the engine running.	C1

More on ‑ing forms and infinitives: see Gerund vs Infinitive.

Result complementsC1

Type	Pattern	Example
changed object	verb + object + adjective	She wiped the table clean. / He hammered the metal flat.	C1
changed subject	verb + reflexive pronoun + adjective	He shouted himself hoarse. / They laughed themselves silly.	C1
object the verb does not normally take	verb + unusual object + adjective	They drank the pub dry. / She cried her eyes red.	C1
the way construction	verb + possessive + way + place	He fought his way through the crowd. / She worked her way up to manager.	C1

In the way construction, the possessive matches the subject. She pushed her way to the front.

Adverbial complementsC1

Complement	Verbs	Example
place	put, place, set, live, stay	Put it on the table. / She lives in London.	C1
manner	behave, act	The children behaved well. / He acted strangely.	C1
length of time	last, take	The film lasts two hours. / The journey takes three days.	C1
amount	cost, weigh, measure	The ticket costs five pounds. / The box weighs 70 kilos.	C1

put, behave, last, cost and weigh need their complement to make a full sentence.
Verbs of amount and duration, such as cost and weigh, have no passive: see Passive Voice.

Cognate and fake objectsC1

Type	Rule	Example
cognate object	a noun from the verb's own root, usually with an adjective	She lived a happy life. / He dreamed a strange dream. / She died a peaceful death.	C1

Phrase	Meaning	Example
make it	succeed, or arrive in time	We made it to the station.	C1
hit it off	get on well at once	They hit it off at the party.	C1
call it a day	stop for now	It's late, so let's call it a day.	C1
sleep the sleep of the just	sleep deeply and peacefully	After the long walk, he slept the sleep of the just.	C1

In make it, hit it off and call it a day, it refers to nothing.

Typical errorsB2–C1

Wrong	Right	Rule
She explained me the rule.	She explained the rule to me.	explain takes the person after to	B2
Give to me the book.	Give me the book. / Give the book to me.	the person takes to only after the thing	B2
She bought a present to him.	She bought a present for him.	buy, make and cook take for before the person	B2
The news made me happily.	The news made me happy.	the complement of make is an adjective	B2
They elected him as president.	They elected him president.	elect, appoint, call and name take no as	B2
They regard him a hero.	They regard him as a hero.	regard, treat and see take as before the complement	B2
Prices raised last year.	Prices rose last year.	rise takes no object; raise needs one	B2
I laid on the sofa.	I lay on the sofa.	lay is the past of lie; laid needs an object	B2
We arrived the hotel.	We arrived at the hotel. / We reached the hotel.	arrive takes no object; reach takes one	B2
It depends the weather.	It depends on the weather.	depend takes on before its noun	B2
She married with a doctor.	She married a doctor.	marry takes the other person directly	B2
I caught him to steal.	I caught him stealing.	catch takes an object and an ‑ing form	C1
She shouted herself hoarsely.	She shouted herself hoarse.	the result is an adjective, not an adverb	C1
She pushed the way to the front.	She pushed her way to the front.	the way construction needs a possessive before way	C1
The film lasts during two hours.	The film lasts two hours.	last takes a length of time directly	C1
They hit off it.	They hit it off.	it stays between hit and off	C1

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CheatsheetB2–C1

OverviewB2

Form: two objectsB2

Verbs that take only toB2

Form: object and complementB2

Compare: with and without an objectB2

Reciprocal verbsB2

Form: object with to be or ‑ingC1

Result complementsC1

Adverbial complementsC1

Cognate and fake objectsC1

Typical errorsB2–C1

Contents

English

01Foundations

02Nouns and determiners

03Pronouns

04Verbs

05Tenses

06Modal verbs

07Sentence building

08Adjectives and adverbs

09Prepositions

10Word formation

A0Starter

A1Beginner

A2Elementary

B1Intermediate

B2Upper intermediate

C1Advanced

C2Proficiency

Level