My background is in second language acquisition, so the following is based on my experience of teaching non-native speakers. I don't use the category "clause pattern." Rather, I discuss the kind of complement verbs can take. Clause patterns are merely a generalization about the range of complement types for verbs. When we learn a verb, we have to learn what the nature of its complement is. The notion of "clause pattern" provides no assistance in understanding why the learner produced a particular non-target-like structure. I have no problem in labeling the obligatory locative, usually a prepositional phrase for put, a complement. If we understand complement as a form necessary to "complete" the verb phrase, then I do not understand the objection to saying some verbs require a prepositional phrase to "complete" them. BE is interesting because it can have prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, and noun phrases in the complement. Bob Yates University of Central Missouri To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select "Join or leave the list" Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/