The agent complement is used in the passive voice.
The etymology of complement takes us to the Latin word complementum . The term has several uses recognized by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ).
In the field of grammar , a phrase whose function is to complete the meaning of another, on which it depends, is called a complement. Phrases, in turn, are words articulated around a nucleus that usually develop a syntactic function.
There are several kinds of plugins . In the case of the agent complement , it is used in the passive voice to indicate the entity that carries out the action mentioned by the verb .
Agent Plugin Features
It can be said that the agent complement designates the one who carries out the verbal action in a passive sentence . Therefore, it points to the individual or the object that executes the action in question.
Before moving forward, it is important to explain what a passive sentence is. In these constructions, the syntactic subject does not control or perform the verbal action; On the contrary, he receives it, positioning himself in the role of patient . The action is specified by the agent complement, which can be recognized through the presence of the preposition by .
There is a correspondence, then, between the agent complement of the passive sentence and the grammatical subject of the active sentence. This is because they both assume the execution of the action .
The agent complement indicates the entity that carries out the verbal action.
Some examples
Take the case of the phrase "The musician was applauded by the audience." In this passive sentence, "for the public" is the agent complement. As you can see, "the audience" performs the action (applauds), while "the musician" receives it.
This same expression can be expressed in the active voice as follows: "The audience applauded the musician." Thus, "the public" becomes the syntactic subject.
Let's take another case : "Laura was betrayed by Ezequiel." Here, the agent complement is "by Ezequiel" , since "Ezequiel" carries out the betrayal and "Laura" receives it. In an active sentence, it could be stated "Ezequiel betrayed Laura" ( "Ezequiel" is the syntactic subject).
"The town was buried by the avalanche" (agent complement: "by the avalanche" ), "The eclipse will be seen by millions of people" (agent complement: "by millions of people" ) and "The judicial ruling was criticized by the victims" (agent complement: "for the victims" ) are other sentences that include an agent complement.
Other prepositions of the agent complement
Although it is usual for the agent complement to appear with the preposition por , it can also use other prepositions . This type of sentences can be developed with by part and by :
«The agreement was rejected by the governors» (agent complement: «by the governors» )
"Everyone knew about his alcoholism" (agent complement: "everyone" )
"The protesters were controlled by the police forces" (agent complement: "by the police forces" )
Generally, however, prepositions can be interchanged without the meaning being compromised. "The agreement was rejected by the governors" is equivalent to "The agreement was rejected by the governors" , while "Everyone knew about his alcoholism" is the same as "Everyone knew about his alcoholism" , to mention two possibilities . .