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verb + object + complement: You make me nervous.

Adjective and noun complements​

Some transitive verbs can be followed by an object together with an object complement (an expression that gives more information about the object). This is often an adjective or noun phrase.

  • You make me nervous.
  • She’s driving us crazy.
  • Let’s paint it blue.
  • I find her attitude strange.
  • Don’t call me a liar.
  • I don’t know why they elected him President.
  • ‘Would you like to join the committee?’ ‘I would consider it an honour.’

A complement may come before a long and heavy object. Compare:

  • He painted the wall red. (not He painted red the wall.)
  • He painted red the walls, the window frames and the ceiling.

I see you as ...​

After some verbs, an object complement is introduced by as. This is common when we say how we see or describe somebody/something.

  • I see you as a basically kind person.
  • She described her attacker as a tall dark man with a beard.
  • His mother regards him as a genius.
  • After tests, they identified the metal as gold.

The structure is also possible with as being.

  • The police do not regard him as (being) dangerous.

I considered him to be ...​

Some verbs that refer to thoughts, feelings and opinions (e.g. believe, consider, feel, know, find, understand) can be followed by object + infinitive (usually to be) in a formal style. In an informal style, that-clauses are more common.

  • I considered him to be an excellent choice. (Less formal: I considered that he was an excellent choice.)
  • We supposed them to be married. (Less formal: We supposed that they were married.)
  • They believed her to be reliable. (Less formal: They believed that she was reliable.)

This structure is very unusual with think.

  • I thought that she was mistaken. (More natural than I thought her to be mistaken.)

To be can be dropped after consider.

  • I considered him (to be) an excellent choice.

Passive forms of these structures may be less formal than active forms (see here).

For more details of structures with feel, (see here); for know, (see here); for think, (see here).

They found her (to be) ...​

After find + object, to be suggests the result of a test or investigation. Compare:

  • Everybody found her very pleasant.
    The doctors found her to be perfectly fit.
  • I found the bicycle very comfortable to ride.
    The testers found this bicycle to be the best value for money.

Introductory it: She made it clear that ...​

When the object of a verb is a clause, infinitive structure or -ing structure, and there is an object complement, it is common to use it as a preparatory object. Compare:

  • She made her views clear.
    She made it clear that she disagreed. (not She made that she disagreed clear.)

For details of this structure, (see here).

Passive structures​

Passive versions of these structures are common (see here).

  • It was painted blue.
  • He was elected President.
  • Her attacker was described as a tall man with a beard.
  • The metal was identified as gold.
  • He is not regarded as being dangerous.
  • For a long time he was thought to be a spy.
  • She was believed to belong to a revolutionary organisation.
  • Seven people are understood to have been injured in the explosion.
  • It was considered impossible to change the date.

For the structures that are possible after a particular verb, see a good dictionary.