Question

Difficulty: MediumNouns and Noun Phrases

Read the sentence below:

'During the annual summit, the executive committee pronounced the recently drafted policy an indispensable framework for regional development.'

What is the grammatical function of the bolded noun phrase in the sentence above?

  1. Object complementAnswer
  2. B
    Subject complement
  3. C
    Direct object
  4. D
    Appositive noun phrase

Answer

The bolded noun phrase acts as an object complement because it follows the direct object and completes its meaning after the complex transitive verb 'pronounced'.
The phrase 'an indispensable framework for regional development' serves as an object complement. Complex transitive verbs such as 'pronounced', 'declared', 'found', or 'considered' require an object complement to complete the predicate regarding the direct object ('the recently drafted policy').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main verb and its clause structure
The main verb is 'pronounced', which is a complex transitive verb taking both a direct object and an object complement.
Determining the verb type helps identify the syntactic roles of following noun phrases.
2
Identify the direct object
'the recently drafted policy' receives the action of being pronounced.
The entity directly affected or declared by the verb is the direct object.
3
Determine the relation of the bolded phrase to the direct object
'an indispensable framework for regional development' defines the quality or status predicated upon the direct object.
A noun phrase that predicates an identity or quality onto the direct object functions as an object complement.

Key Concept

Syntactic Functions of Noun Phrases (Object Complement)
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