In the sentence 'Tom was a quarterback', what function does the noun phrase 'a quarterback' serve?

In the sentence 'Tom was a quarterback', what function does the noun phrase 'a quarterback' serve?

• A. Indirect object
• B. Subject complement
• C. Direct object
• D. Object of a preposition

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how linking verbs work. When the verb is a form of “to be,” what follows the subject often serves as a subject complement: it renames or identifies the subject rather than acting on someone or something. In this sentence, Tom is the subject, and the noun phrase after the verb—“a quarterback”—renames Tom, telling us who he is. That makes it a subject complement (specifically a predicate nominative, since a noun phrase names the subject). It’s not an indirect object or a direct object because there’s no action being done to someone or something by a transitive verb; there’s no recipient or object being acted upon. And it’s not the object of a preposition because nothing in the sentence introduces a preposition that would link to this noun phrase.

The main idea here is how linking verbs work. When the verb is a form of “to be,” what follows the subject often serves as a subject complement: it renames or identifies the subject rather than acting on someone or something. In this sentence, Tom is the subject, and the noun phrase after the verb—“a quarterback”—renames Tom, telling us who he is. That makes it a subject complement (specifically a predicate nominative, since a noun phrase names the subject).

It’s not an indirect object or a direct object because there’s no action being done to someone or something by a transitive verb; there’s no recipient or object being acted upon. And it’s not the object of a preposition because nothing in the sentence introduces a preposition that would link to this noun phrase.