complement
part of speech
noun (a complement, complements); verb (complement, complements, complemented, complementing)
meaning for a pupil
1) (verb) To complement something is to go well with it and make it better or complete. tree →
2) (noun) A complement is something that goes well with another thing and completes it. tree →
3) (noun) A full complement is the whole number needed, such as a full crew. tree →
4) (maths) Complementary angles add up to 90 degrees; each one is the complement of the other. tree →
5) (grammar) A complement is a word or phrase that completes the meaning after verbs like «be», as in «She is a doctor». tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths, the complement of an angle is what must be added to make 90 degrees. In everyday life foods, colours and clothes complement each other. In grammar lessons it names a part of the sentence. Phrases: complement each other, full complement, complementary colours.
examples
- The red scarf complements her black coat. tree →
- Chips complement fish perfectly. tree →
- The complement of a 30-degree angle is 60 degrees. tree →
- Our team has its full complement of eleven players. tree →
- Blue and orange are complementary colours. tree →
- Her quiet calm complemented his loud energy. tree →
- In «The soup is hot», «hot» is the complement. tree →
note
Big trap: «complement» (with e — completes, goes well with) is a homophone of «compliment» (with i — praise, a kind remark). Think: compLEment comPLEtes. In maths: complementary angles add to 90°, supplementary angles add to 180°; complement of 35° = 90 − 35 = 55°.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «complement» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.