adjective complement vs. adverb

[donnach]

Harry feels confident that he will win the match.

Is the red clause an adjective complement?

If it modifies an adjective, doesn't it then function adverbially?

Thanks!

[Tdol]

Does it modify his confidence?

[donnach]

I believe it does. The word confident is an adjective, though, and this leads me to believe the clause is adverbial.

Is it?

[Frank Antonson]

If the sentence were "Harry feels confident about his winning the match", it would be clear that there is an adverbial prepositional phrase with a gerund as its object.

If the sentence were "Harry feels confident about the fact that he will win the match", the same would be true with a noun clause as the object of the preposition (introduced by what Harman and House call a function word(s)--"the fact that".

Perhaps you could interpret the sentence as having "about the fact" understood and therefore being elliptical.

[Afit]

Does it modify his confidence?

Does it not?

[TheParser]

Harry feels confident that he will win the match.

Is the red clause an adjective complement?

If it modifies an adjective, doesn't it then function adverbially?

Thanks!

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) There seem to be at least two theories.

(2) IT IS A NOUN CLAUSE


(a) This theory holds that your sentence is a short way to say:

Harry is confident + of this fact (that he will win the match).

(i) As you can see, "that he will win the match" is clearly a noun clause

in apposition with the noun "fact."

Source: Among the scholars who accept this analysis are Professors House

and Harman in their Descriptive English Grammar.

(3) IT IS AN ADVERBIAL CLAUSE

(a) This theory says "that he will win the match" is an adverbial clause that

modifies the adjective "confident."

(i) Among scholars who hold this view are Professors Pence and Emery in their

A Grammar of Present-Day English.

(4) Personally, I am more comfortable with the theory of Professors House and Harman.

[donnach]

Thank you!

[Afit]

Noun Clause as an Adjective Complement / Adverb

A noun clause can also be an adjective complement. When I was a teenager, the term "adjective complement" did not exist, it was simply called an "adverb" or "adverbial clause".
Consider this sentence: Everybody is upset that Gary failed.
"That Gary failed" is a noun clause used as an adjective complement. The clause modifies the adjective "upset"; in other words, it is acting as an adverb.
A second sentence example would be: She is happy that she is learning Spanish. The adjective complement in this sentence would be: that she is learning Spanish. The clause is complementing or modifying the adjective; i.e., it is acting as an adverb.

English Grammar Tip 19 -- Using Noun Clauses

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Harry feels confident (of the fact) that he will win the match.

In my opinion, The part after "confident", irrespective of whether it is ellipted or whether it is not, is there to explain the reason why Harry feels confident. Modifier, curtailed adverbial.