Examples of circumstantial complement

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Sentences in Spanish are traditionally divided into two: on the one hand, we have the subject, which is the person, animal or thing that performs or experiences the action described in the other half of the sentence: the predicate. The core of the predicate is a verb and, in most cases, said verb is accompanied by so-called verb complements, which are words or groups made up of several words, whose function is to provide more information about the verb itself.

There are different complements of the verb; Among others we can name the direct object, the indirect object, the regime complement, the prepositional complement or the attribute, among many others. In this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to focus on the study of one of these types of complements: the circumstantial complement with examples so that you understand this lesson better.

Index

1. The circumstantial complement
2. Types of circumstantial complements
3. Examples of circumstantial complements

According to him Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE), the ccircumstantial supplement refers, on the one hand to "each of the syntactic functions performed by the phrases that are not semantically determined by the verb they modify and that indicate circumstances on verbal action, such as place, time or mode "and, on the other hand, circumstantial complement also refers to to the "segment of the sentence that performs the circumstantial complement function".

The syntactic function for "circumstantial complement" can be performed well by an adverb, alone or forming an adverbial phrase (just as we can also find noun phrases or prepositional phrases that function as circumstantial complements) or for one subordinate clause of adverbial type, that fulfills the same functions that an adverb would perform, thus indicating nuances related to the time, the mode or the place of the events described by the verb, among Many others.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the verb complements so that you know them in depth.

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The circumstantial complements receive this name because can be removed without the sentence in which they are inserted being incorrect or losing part of its meaning. That is, the circumstantial complements they are expendable elements, whose only function is to provide more specific information about the action described by the verb. It is for this reason that if we delete them, the sentence is still perfectly valid and understandable, although it will not be as rich in detail and information as before.

Inside of typology of circumstantial complements, we find various subgroups, which are organized according to semantic issues. In this way, we can find add-ons:

• So
• Of time
• Of place
• Of cause
• Company
• Of purpose
• Quantity
• Instrument

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Here is a brief list with examples of the different types of circumstantial complements that we can find in a syntactic analysis of sentences in Spanish. Do you dare to indicate which is the circumstantial complement and what type does it belong to? Cheer up!

• Juan Carlos has lived in Mexico for fifteen years.
• Last week I had breakfast with three friends in a downtown cafeteria.
• Shall we meet at the party this afternoon at 7pm?
• I'm going by car to pick up my brother from the airport.
• I have split the cake with a metal knife.
• You have to sweep the kitchen floor with the new broom we bought the other day.
• I go to French classes because I want to communicate with my boyfriend's French family.
• The bus crashed into the tree because the driver fell asleep.
• That's where my best friend lives.
• Every Saturday I like to go to the movies at night.
• When I was eight years old, I loved chocolate.
• You have to do it as I have taught you.
• In Spain there are many deaths due to cholesterol.
• Last month he woke up at five in the morning because his mother called him urgently.
• I can't go to the company dinner because I work Saturday night.

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