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Is " pending" a postpositive adjective?

English Language & Usage Asked on July 29, 2021

She had a libel action against the magazine pending.

"Pending" in this sentence seems weird, as it is unlikely to modify the noun" magazine" like other postpositive adjectives such as " the president elect","information available " .

Does " pending" modify the noun " action "?

One Answer

"Pending" is an object complement that follows the direct object "action" and describes it.

It is a verbal acting as an adjective, but not a real adjective.

Here is what Wikipedia says about object complements:

In grammar, an object complement is a predicative expression that follows a direct object of an attributive ditransitive verb or resultative verb and that complements the direct object of the sentence by describing it.[1][2][3] Object complements are constituents of the predicate. Noun phrases and adjective phrases most frequently function as object complements.

Answered by Eddie Kal on July 29, 2021

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