subject complement

noun

, Grammar.

1. a word or a group of words, usually functioning as an adjective or noun, that is used in the predicate following a copula and describes or is identified with the subject of the sentence, as sleepy in The travelers became sleepy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of subject complement¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

The syntax is simple, the phrases are short and generally the order of words is: subject, complement, verb.

From Project Gutenberg