Oblique Complement

Test for identifying oblique complements in English

• An oblique complement (Obl.Compl) is a PP or an AdvP which behaves like a complement, i.e. it is semantically implied syntactically necessary
• cannot be used with a pro-VP form such as do so:
John put a book on the shelf and Mary did so (*into the drawer), too.
• it does not fit the definition of any of the other grammatical functions.
• typical examples in which the verb restricts the choice of a PP
wait for + N(P)--> wait for you
substitute with + N(P)--> substitute plastic with paper
rely on + N(P)--> rely on her punctuality
talk to + N(P) --> talk to the students
• the verb requires a directional phrase, independent of how this is lexicalized:
put [sth.]DObj [somewhere]Obl.compl

Categories and structural position

• Oblique complements are always PPs.
• It is a sister of V and NP and dominated by a VP.

Example:

             _S_
            /   \
           /     AuxP
          /     /  \
       subj    /   VP
        /     /   /  \
       /     /   / obl.compl
      /     /   /    |       
    NP   Aux   V    _PP__
   /__\   |    |   /_____\
   Pat  will wait  for Kim.

1. The predicate
   
2. The subject
   
3. The complements
   
   1. The direct object
      
   2. The indirect object
      
   3. The predicative complement
      
   4. The oblique complement
      
4. Modifiers (Adjuncts)
   

  ← Predicate Complement        ↑ Grammatical Functions          → Modifiers (Adjunct)