# Objects and Complements

https://langs123.com/en/english/verbs/objects-complements/
CEFR B2–C1 · 2026-10-19 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> 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.

## Cheatsheet

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

## Overview

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

- 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 objects

| 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. |
| for | buy, make, cook, find, get, save, order | He made her a cake. | He made a cake for her. |

- 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 to

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

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

## Form: object and complement

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

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

## Compare: with and without an object

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

- 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 verbs

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

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

## Form: object with to be or -ing

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

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

## Result complements

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

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

## Adverbial complements

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

- 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 objects

| 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. |

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

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

## Typical errors

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