| Criteria | Complements | Adjuncts |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing |
She mentioned/*alluded the letter |
|
| (can have some choice) choice of subrd. clause |
It consists
of egg and milk. He gave it to Pat. He supplied them with sufficient food. I blame it on Kim. He threw it to/towards/past Pat. Whether/*that we go abroad depends on the cost. He tends to be lazy/*being lazy/*that he is lazy. He doesn't know whether or not she likes him. |
He set out with/without sufficient food. I'm inviting him, whether or not she likes him. |
| Obligatoriness (stronger than licensing) |
She perused the report.
/*She perused. She read the report. / She read. (complement optional with read) It consists of egg and milk./*It consists. He tends to be lazy. /*He tends. She put/deposited the money in her bank account. Lunch was followed by the President's annual speech. |
She left because she
was ill. / She left. |
| Anaphora |
*Jill keeps her car in
the garage but Pam does so in the road. *She rode her bicycle and she did so to school. |
Jill washes her car in
the garage but Pam does so in the road. She performed all the tasks and she did so remarkably well. |
| Category |
typically NPs either for PPs: He relied on his mother. AdvPs: typically adjuncts, but: They treat us quite badly. content clauses: mainly complements I hadn't noticed that she was looking so worried. either for (predicative) AdjPs She was disgusted at his betrayal. |
But: They saw her this
morning/ last week. I slept on the floor. She writes exceptionally clearly. What had happened, that she was looking so worried? Disgusted at his betrayal, she went back to Paris. |
| Position |
more restricted to a basic position |
|
| Argumenthood |
Complements are arguments of the predicate |
|
| Selection |
Predicates impose selectional restrictions on args. Kim /*the cheese enjoyed the concert. He ate everything we had in the house. (sense of everything restricted to 'food') |
|
| Roles |
Complements are cast in semantic roles by their heads. |