Linda,
In the example you give "to discover a cure for scurvy" is adverbial; it's a purpose infinitive modifying "an experiment". Its adverb status is supported by the fact that it can be fronted:
To discover a cure for scurvy the British navy conducted an experiment.
One could also insert "in order" before "to" with no change in meaning. In an object complement construction, the complement can't typically be fronted:
The chair appointed Jack secretary.
*Secretary the chair appointed Jack.
However, your sentence contains a structural ambiguity. "...to discover a cure for scurvy" could also be a complement to the noun "experiment," describing a particular kind of experiment. In this case it's a postnominal modifier and cannot be fronted like the adverbial phrase can.
There's a problem with Wilson's definition of OC below. Adjectives can also be OC, as in
The jury found the defendant guilty.
Herb
I have certainly learned a great deal from all of you and have a question for you about the following sentence.
In 1747, a physician in the British navy conducted an experiment to discover a cure for scurvy.
How would you explain why the phrase "to discover a cure for scurvy" is not an object complement?
Is it an infinitive phrase acting as an adjective, or is it acting as an adverbial and modifying the verb, not the noun, "experiment"?
Am I thinking of an object complement in too general of a sense as indicated in the following info?
Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
"OBJECT COMPLEMENT
(sometimes called an objective complement) has two meanings in grammar. In general an object complement is a word or other construction that completes the complement, the end of the predicate part of the sentence: She slapped him in the face has a direct object, him, and an object complement, the prepositional phrase in the face.
The narrower sense of the term, more frequently used by grammarians than the general sense, describes the word treasurer in The club elected me treasurer. It is a noun or other nominal construction following a direct object and with the same referent as that direct object: in the sample sentence, both me and treasurer refer to the same person."
Thanks in advance for your expertise,
Linda Shelton
Linda Shelton
Eng/Lit Dept.
Utah Valley State College
Orem, UT 84058-5999
801-863-7133
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