My understanding of 'complex indirect object' is that it is simply an expanded indirect object, as in"what appears to be a gangland killing" - complex indirect object
"what appears to be a gangland killing" - complex indirect object
What do you need this for? Are you writing a program?
what appears to be a gangland killing is not even a syntactic constituent. It doesn't have a function. in what appears to be a gangland killing is and does have though.
It sounds like in what appears to be a gangland killing is an adjunct that modifies the verb shot and we have an independent clause what appears to be stepped in to the adjunct.
I'm not writing a program.
No, I don't. I know the Russian alphabet and some phrases though.
Thanks. I have several e-books about the syntax of the English language.
"[[They] [[shot] [him] [in [what appears to be] a gangland killing.]]]".
What is the grammatical function of the clause "what appears to be"?
How about the sentence She - I think - is friendly. ?
I think is a separate clause. But it's an independent clause. So could be say that there is no function of I think?