A complement is “an element which is needed to complete the meaning of the head” Dwijatmoko, 2002: 6. It expresses a meaning which adds to that of
other clause elements, either the subject subject complement or the object object complement Crystal, 1995: 221, for example, The news on the World
War II subject complement and We consider him a genius object complement.
A complement might be a noun phrase NP, adjective phrase, or a clause. The difference between an object and a complement is in the way that a complement
does not become the subject through a passive transformation.
d. Classes of English Clauses
Curme 1931: 1 states that sentences are divided into three classes, which are simple sentence, compound sentence, and complex sentence.
2. Theories on Simple Sentences
According to Aarts and Aarts 1982: 82, a simple sentence can be defined as “a sentence in which none of the functions is realized by a clause. A simple
sentence does not contain an embedded or subordinate sentence as realization of one of its functions.”
Curme defines simple sentence in a more simple way that simple sentence is a sentence having one independent proposition 1931: 1.
Simple sentence has three forms of sentence. They are exclamatory, declarative, and interrogation Curme, 1931: 1.
1. An exclamatory sentence is a sentence uttering an outcry or giving expression to a command, wish, or desire, often closing with an
exclamation point, for example, What a fine ring she received for her engagement
2. A declarative sentence states a fact, closing with a period. In this type of
sentence, the subject is present and generally preceded the verb, for example, Ann brought a cake for her mother’s birthday.
3. An interrogative sentence is a sentence asking for a question, closing with
an interrogation point. This type of sentence is marked in three ways: YesNo question for example, Do you agree with her statement?, WH-
Question for example, What is her name?, and Question Tag for example, The mail is received, isn’t it?.
Simple sentences have two functions. First, it is emotive, for example, it expresses an expression of will, emotions, moods, etc., and second, it makes a
statement, or, in the case of a question, calls for a statement Curme, 1931: 1. In analyzing simple sentences, there are three aspects that should be
noticed. They are in which the sentence contains subject or not, in which the sentence contains one single verb or not, and concord.
A finite verb is “a verb phrase in which the first or only word is a finite verb, the rest of the verb phrase if any consisting of non-finite verbs” Quirk,
1985:149.
