How to Distinguish Objects and Complements in Sentences

Writing various types of essays in LanguageIndonesia cannot be separated from the arrangement of systematic sentences. Sentence is defined as a language unit that is formed from a series of words that stand alone and have meaning. A series of words is said to be a sentence if it has at least a subject and a predicate. Sentences of this type are called imperfect sentences. However, the arrangement of sentences is often also equipped with objects and adverbs or complements. This is called a perfect sentence. A more complete explanation can be read in the article examples of perfect and imperfect sentences in Indonesian previously discussed.

In perfect sentences, sometimes it is difficult to find which object is and which is called complement. In this article, we will discuss the meaning, characteristics and differences of objects and complements.

Object

Objects in Indonesian grammar are defined as nouns that complete transitive verbs in clauses. Objects are also interpreted as recipients of actions from the subject through the predicate. Place the object immediately behind the predicate. The object in the sentence functions as:

1. Forming basic sentences

It has been discussed earlier that in a sentence sometimes the object does not appear. Objects appear when the predicate is transitive. Usually this predicate has the type of confix me-i or me-kan. To know more about kinds of affixes can be read in the previous article.

2. Clarify the meaning of the sentence

3. Form a unit or complete a sentence

For explanations no. 2 and 3 to make it easier to understand, consider the following example sentences:

• Ani eats an apple

The example sentence above is an example of a perfect sentence. The word "Ani" functions as a subject, "eats as a predicate, and "apple" as an object. When the object is removed from sentence, then its meaning becomes unclear. The sentence also does not provide an explanation of what Ani did. It's different if there is a word Apple that completes it.

Another example:

• Sella throws a volleyball

Likewise with this example sentence. The word "Sela" functions as a subject, "throws" as a predicate, and "volleyball" as an object. If the object is omitted from the sentence, the meaning becomes blurred or unclear. The sentence also does not provide an explanation of what Sella did. It is different if there is the word volleyball that completes it.

Object Features

It is not difficult to know whether a word in a sentence functions as an object or not. Objects have several criteria that make them easily recognizable. The characteristics of the object include:

1. Its location follows the predicate – in a perfect sentence structure, the object is always behind the predicate. The object never precedes the predicate in a sentence.
2. Can turn into subject - the object in a perfect sentence can change its position into the subject in the passive sentence. For example in the sentence "Ana eats an apple". The word apple here functions as an object. If this sentence is changed in the passive form it becomes "Apple was eaten by Ana". Here the word "apple" no longer occupies the function of the object but becomes the subject in the passive sentence.
3. Objects can be added with possessive pronouns – Objects in a sentence are usually nouns or noun phrases. So that objects can be added with possessive pronouns. One of them is in the sentence "Sela borrowed my sports clothes". The word "my tracksuit" is the object in the sentence. This word is a noun phrase that gets the additional pronoun -ku.

Complementary

Complement, or often also called complement, is grammatically defined as a word or phrase whose function is to complete a sentence. Complements and objects have many characteristics in common. Therefore many find it difficult to distinguish between the two. But complements can be easily distinguished from objects. In a perfect sentence, the object can be changed into the subject in the passive sentence. While the complement can not. This is the main difference between complement and object. Complements in sentences function as:

• form various sentences such as basic, singular, broad and compound sentences
• emphasize the meaning of the sentence
• form a unified mind
• as a designation

Complementary Features

1. The predicate cannot be changed to the subject

The feature of this predicate is what distinguishes it from the object of the sentence. The predicate cannot be changed into the subject even if the sentence is changed to passive. As an example:

• Ana made her sister a party dress

In the example sentence above word The "sister" acts as an object while the "party dress" acts as a complement. The sentence above can be changed into the passive form as follows:

• Ana made her sister a party dress

In the passive form of the sentence, the word "sister" changes the role to the subject while the word "Ana" is changed to the object of the sentence. It can be seen that the word "party dress" which acts as a complement still occupies the same role in the passive sentence.

2. Its position is behind the predicate

The characteristics of the second predicate are similar to the characteristics of the object in the sentence. This is quite a trap especially if the object and the predicate are both in the form of nouns. It's actually quite easy to tell the difference. Just see which nouns can be used as subjects. If the noun can be the subject then the word is the object and the other words are complements.

3. Phrase elements can be in the form of nouns, phrases or clauses

The next characteristic is that the phrase elements can be in the form of nouns, phrases, and clauses. In contrast to objects that can be in the form of nouns or noun phrases. To clarify, consider the following example:

• Mom is learning to plant Mango tree
• He said that this shirtmine
• This bottle contains perfume

Based on the characteristics and examples above, objects and complements can be distinguished in several ways, namely:

1.Check the word behind the predicate.

If the word behind the predicate is a noun or noun phrase, it is most likely an object. As an example:

• Please eat grapes
• Please sell green grapes

in the first example "wine" is a noun so that it is classified as an object, while the second example "green grapes" is a clause so that it occupies a complementary role.

2. If the word behind the predicate is a noun or noun phrase, change it to passive voice.

The second way to distinguish between objects and complements is to make passive sentences. Example:

• Dina is harvesting strawberries in the garden
• Dina is learning to harvest strawberries

From In these two sentences, the first example can be passively transformed into "strawberries are harvested by Dina" while the second sentence is ambiguous when it is passive.

That's how to distinguish objects and complements in sentences. May be useful.