Complements that rename or describe something get a slanted line instead of an upright one. The slant leans back toward the word they point to. This builds on Diagrams: Direct and Indirect Objects and Object Complements.
- A predicate noun or predicate adjective follows the verb, behind a line slanted back toward the subject.
- An object complement follows the direct object, behind a line slanted back toward the object.
Key idea
Upright line: the word receives the action (direct object). Slanted line: the word renames or describes the subject or the object.
Why it works
The slant is a little arrow pointing back. It shows that the captain is the sister and that Biscuit is the puppy, which is exactly what makes them complements and not objects.
Worked example: A predicate adjective
Diagram “The soup smelled delicious.”
- Baseline: soup | smelled.
- Smelled is linking here; delicious describes the soup.
- Write delicious after a line slanted back toward soup. The hangs under soup.
Answer: soup | smelled \ delicious
Common mistake
Using the direct-object line for a predicate noun. In “Mia became captain,” nothing receives an action; the slant points back to the word the complement renames or describes.
Reed and Kellogg called the predicate noun or adjective an “attribute complement” and drew the same slanted line before it.