Dear Michael, To refer to such constructions as complements is perfectly fine. I've seen such structures called, variously, adverbial of direction complements and adverbial of place complements. JVB At 05:04 PM 3/9/99 -0800, you wrote: >In revising my own list of basic sentence patterns, I am ready to join >Martha Kolln and others in seeing subject+BE+adverb of time* or place as >a pattern: > >John is here. >John is in the kitchen. > > >Would I be drummed out of the profession if I called that adverb a >complement because it completes its verb as much as subject complements >or direct objects complete their verbs? > >MIchael Kischner > >*Actually, I can't think of an adverb of time that goes comfortably in >that slot. "Choir practice is on Thursdays" doesn't seem to cut it; in >that sentence, BE seems to be just a shortcut for HAPPEN or OCCUR. I know >that something similar is said of BE with an adverb of place -- that BE >then means EXIST. But this isn't my main question. > James Vanden Bosch (616) 957-6592 Department of English [log in to unmask] Calvin College fax: (616) 957-8508 Grand Rapids, MI 49546 http://www.calvin.edu/~vand for PureVoice software: http://www.eudora.com/epro/purevoice.html