Can prepositional phrases be subject complements?

Question

I’m an ESL teacher without much formal training (at this stage). I have however Googled grammar questions many times and been redirected here, so this time I'm actually posting. I’m trying to explain to students what follows “to be” when it acts a main verb, but I’m stuck on one point.

I know that predicate adjectives and predicate nominatives can be subject complements as they describe the subject.

I also know that sometimes prepositions act as adverbs after “to be”, eg. “She’s not up yet”), and that position words can act as adverbial phrases after “to be”, eg. “I’m not there yet”).

As these prepositions and adverbial phrases are describing the position or state of the subject, and not any action, would these also be considered subject complements? If so, is there a special name for them?

Also, would a prepositional phrase such as the one in “He’s in the kitchen” also count as a subject complement as it describes the position of the subject and not an action?

Spell · Answer

Prepositional phrases, because they're a type of phrase where a verb, or adjective, is used to alter an adverb or noun, they count as subject complements. Subject complements, words or phrases that modify, describe, or complete the grammatical subject of a clause, are then technically similar in function to prepositional phrases.

"He's in the kitchen", with that being said, this phrase can technically count as both a prepositional phrase, and a subject complement

P VV · Answer

I like to think of that problem this way.

She's not up yet.

This seems to be elliptical for the following:

She has not woken up yet.

I think of the 'up' in this instance as a particle and not a preposition, though the distinction may be a bit arbitrary.

It could also be said:

She has not woken, yet. (no need for the particle or preposition--if you prefer).

Norman Edward · Answer

This question focuses on 'to be'. To be is the root of; is, am, are, was, were, and been. “The verb 'to be' is the most irregular verb in the English language. It is normally a linking verb showing existence or the condition of the subject. It can also be used as an auxiliary verb when forming the passive voice.”^ This is a complete sentence, “I am that you were.”, even though it appears ungrammatical, awkward and devoid of context. You can’t teach that because it needs too much explaining and it is not worth your time. ^^http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000040.htm

William Dean · Answer

Seems no one has answered the basic question here. Is a prepositional phrase that shows location (locative) or manner (both are adverbial), in the location of and doing the job of a subject complement acting as an adverb or an adjective? It follows a linking verb it should be acting as an adjective. They are giving us adverbial information though (where or how). However, a subject complement is by nature acting as an adjective. The dog is huge. This is basically a noun phrase: huge dog. The dog is in the kitchen. Is this not still a noun phrase? the dog in the kitchen. So we have a prepositional phrase modifying a noun in an adverbial way. This is how ablatives work in Latin.

Answered by William Dean on November 23, 2020

Can prepositional phrases be subject complements?

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