Complement

What's a complement?

A complement is a separate block in a VP or EP that describes an NP (subject or object).

For example, in the phrase:

Here تکړه - takRá (strong) is a complement that describes the object, ته - tu (you). Incidentally, that whole sentence is a compliment, which is a flattering or affirming remark (see complement vs. compliment), so yes, you will often use complements in compliments. 😅

Complements also show up in other places too.

Here خفه - khufa (sad) is a complement that describes the object, ما - maa (me).

Note: we said it's a "seperate block" but with stative helper verbs the complement also gets welded together with the verb in certain cases. What we mean is that the complement is always separate from the NP it is describing.

Types of complements

In Pashto a complement can be one of four things:

• adjective
• locative adverb
• sandwich
• complement noun

Adjective

Adjectives seem like the most natural and common things to use as a complement. In the NP section we saw how adjectives can be joined to a noun to describe it. We can also use adjectives on their own, as a complement, separate from the NP.

Click on the to see what the complement is in the examples below.

Notice that the adjective will inflect to match the NP that it is describing. Try editing the examples below and see how the adjective changes when you change the NP it describes.

Locative Adverb

You can also use an adverb that describes a location as a complement. These do not inflect.

Sandwich

You can also use a sandwich as a complement to describe an NP (where it is, who it's with, what it's for etc. etc.)

Complement Noun

Here's where things get weird... In Pashto, we can use a noun as a complement. In English, this sounds really funny, because we're always used to having adjectives as complements. For example, a native English speaker would never say, "I am confusion. (noun)"

You'd have to say, "I am confused. (adjective)" But Pashto doesn't play by that rule.

There are a lot of compounds (stative and dynamic) that use nouns to describe an change made to an NP or action being done. These nouns can be used as complements in places where an English speaker would think we have to use an adjective.

For example, we have the compound حلېدل - haledul (to be solved) which is a combination of:

• حل - hal (solution) - noun
• کېدل - kedúl (to become) - verb

The complement noun حل - hal (solution) gets used almost as if it were an adjective (in an English brain).

Notice this is a noun in this sentence, not an adjective. That means that:

• it does not inflect
• it does not mean exactly what the noun means

We also have the the dynamic compound استرحات کول - istirahaat kawul (to rest) which is a combination of:

• استراحات - istiraháat (rest/relaxation)
• کول - kawul (to do)

So we can use استراحات - istiraháat (rest/relaxation) as a complement noun. You might here someone say:

Again this makes absolutely no sense to the English brain, but it happens in all the time in Pashto (and many other languages), so you'll just have to accept it.