There are movies where the actors are more memorable than the plot, and the background music or certain specific scenes leave a longer-lasting impression. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of those movies. In this film, Audrey Hepburn’s personally performed song Moon River, the streets she walked while eating her coffee and croissant, and her fashion are such memorable elements.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s is exactly what the title suggests – a story about a woman eating breakfast in front of Tiffany’s, admiring the jewels. Adapted from Truman Capote’s novel, the film is set against the backdrop of 1940s Manhattan, New York, during World War II, and tells the story of a woman living off the support of men in the social circles of cafes and nightclubs.
Holly Golightly is a woman who dreams of wealth and luxury. However, it’s not just women, but anyone at times who dreams of the luxury of Tiffany’s. It’s not necessarily about wanting to buy diamonds, but as Holly says, it seems like a place where nothing very bad could happen (Nothing very bad could happen to you there).
Even so, Holly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s is always and still a fabulous woman who pays attention to her appearance.
Holly Golightly: How do I look? Paul Varjak: Very good. I must say, I’m amazed.
Verbs are broadly classified into two categories based on two conditions: whether they require an object and whether they require a complement. If a verb needs an object, it is a transitive verb; if not, it is an intransitive verb. If a verb requires a complement, it is considered an incomplete verb; if not, it is a complete verb. This gives another reason why the verb, rather than the subject, is considered the main element of a sentence: the verb largely determines the structure of the sentence.
Words, the components of a sentence, are also classified into two properties. One is by the individual properties and roles of the words, which we call ‘parts of speech.’ Another classification method is based on the role or components within a sentence. This is not about the individual properties of words but their characteristics as components within a sentence. Therefore, these can be called ‘sentence elements’ or ‘parts of sentence’ in English. It’s not an exaggeration to say that in English, sentence elements are fundamentally distinguished by their position. Each part of a sentence has a specific place where it belongs. Matching parts of speech with parts of sentence would follow accordingly.
Parts of Sentence
Parts of Speech
Subjective
Nouns
Verb (Predicate)
Verbs
Objective
Nouns
Complements
Nouns (Adjectives)
Let’s summarize our single pattern sentence structure and the two English principles we emphasize with this knowledge.
Single Pattern Word Order
The first principle of English is to start with the subject (S) + verb (V). The second principle of English is to explain questions in the order of the “Five Ws and One H” (who, what, where, why, how, when) after stating the subject and verb. Combining these two principles into one formula results in the following:
S + V + (Who + What) + [Where + Why + How + When]
The reason for breaking down the single pattern word order formula, similar to factorization, was to plan for inserting different parts of speech into the parentheses. In other words, the parts of speech that can be inserted are limited by the parentheses. The first parenthesis () area following the verb is reserved for nouns. Sometimes adjectives enter this space, referred to as complements, but it’s considered that a noun is omitted behind this adjective complement. Therefore, due to the omitted noun, adjectives can also enter the noun-exclusive area. The second bracket [] area is exclusively for adverbs.
If a different part of speech wants to enter a space not allowed for it, it must disguise itself as the allowed part of speech. Although this disguise makes English complicated, knowing the principles discussed above significantly simplifies the rules of the English game. Visually, this can be represented as follows.
S
V
Who
What
Where
Why
How
When
Noun Zone
Verb Zone
Noun Zone (Adjective)
Adverb Zone
I
did
the best
Tomorrow
is
another day
I
will go
(crazy)
if I do.
I
am
an excellent driver
In the single word order formula mentioned above, the verb determines the form of the sentence. However, regardless of which verb appears, the initial focus should be on resolving who (Who) and what (What). Only after addressing these queries do we proceed to answer questions in the order of where, why, how, and when. This means that interest in who and what takes precedence, regardless of the verb used.
Especially when an incomplete verb like ‘be’ appears, the curiosity about who and what naturally arises first. However, there are cases, in fact, quite often, where an adjective follows an incomplete verb. As mentioned earlier, it simplifies matters to consider that a noun following the adjective has been omitted.
Explained from a different perspective, the equation subject=complement always holds true. When both the subject and the complement are nouns, it’s relatively clear. However, there are instances where an adjective appears in the place of the complement. In such cases, it’s helpful to consider that a noun following the adjective has been omitted.
OSGOOD: Well, nobody’s perfect. (SOME LIKE IT HOT: 1959)
Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.
Rumack: I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley. (AIRPLANE: 1980)
Let’s imagine that “Nobody is perfect.” is an abbreviation for “Nobody is a perfect human,” where a noun like ‘human’ has been omitted. Similarly, “I am serious.” can be thought of as missing the noun ‘person’ in the sense of “I am a serious person.” Naturally, adding or omitting nouns changes the nuance of the sentence. However, this method allows for a simple expression of the sentence structure as subject=complement.
By the way, the second example above is Rumack’s witty response, playing on the homophony between “Surely” (really) and “Shirley” (a person’s name).
Paul: I know that she is good and strong and deserves all the love this world has to give. Can’t you see that, how wonderful, how special she is? <A Walk in the Clouds>
Nowadays, the negative forms of the verb “be,” such as “am not,” “is not,” and “are not,” are collectively referred to as ‘ain’t’. Some people even use “ain’t” to replace “has not,” or “have not,” and even “do not,” “does not,” and “did not.”
MITCH ROBBINS: Hi, Curly, kill anyone today?
CURLY: Day ain’t over yet. <CITY SLICKERS>
1)Become, Grow, Turn, Go, Run, Fall
The verb “be” is not the only incomplete verb. For example, the verb “become” is interpreted similarly to the verb “be” and is an incomplete verb. Other verbs like grow, turn, go, run, fall, and get also belong to this category, and sentences containing these verbs can generally be rephrased using the verb “be.” The difference can be observed in the following dialogue:
Joe Gillis: You’re Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big. Norma Desmond: I am big. It’s the pictures that got small. (SUNSET BLVD: 1950)
NORMAN BATES: We all go a little mad sometimes. <PSYCHO, 1960>
“The pictures got small” and “We all go a little mad” show that the verbs got and go can be replaced with the verb “be,” although this removes the dynamic sense and strengthens the static description of the current state.
2)Keep, Remain, Lie, Hold, Continue
Although slightly different in usage, verbs like keep, remain, lie, hold, continue convey the meaning of “to maintain, to continue,” and can also be substituted with the verb “be.” It’s worth noting that the verb “keep” is particularly useful for expressing continuous action in the forms of keep doing, keep on doing.
Lucy: Let’s not get off. Let’s keep going. (I Am Sam)
DAVID WOODERSON: That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I keep getting older, they stay the same age. <DAZED AND CONFUSED, 1993>
THE BLUE FAIRY: A lie keeps growing and growing until it’s as clear as the nose on your face. <PINOCCHIO, 1940>
3) Sensory Verbs
There are verbs specifically called sensory verbs among incomplete verbs. Sensory verbs express the five senses our bodies perceive. Sentences containing these verbs can also be rephrased using the verb “be.” The main verbs correspond to human sensory organs: look (eyes), sound (ears), smell (nose), taste (mouth), feel (body, especially hands), and seem (appears to be, for intuition). Holly’s question to Paul, “How do I look?” could be rephrased as “How am I?” Conversely, sentences expressed with the verb “be” can be made more detailed by using sensory verbs.
Jett Rink: You always did look pretty, just pretty nigh good enough to eat. <Giant, 1956>
Narrator: Ah well… after all, history only tastes bitter to those who expected it to be sugar coated. <Sans Soleil, Sunless, 1983>
.
Flack: Deodorizers? The guy smelled like ass! <CSI New York, Tri-Borough>
To summarize the discussion:
Verbs indicating a change of state such as become, get, grow, turn.
Verbs indicating a state or maintenance of a state like remain, keep, stay.
follow the subject + incomplete verb structure, answering who or what.
The third case, sensory verbs, express passive situations. However, our five senses also perform active functions. When meaning active actions, we refer to these verbs as perception verbs. We see (see, watch, notice) with our eyes, hear (hear) with our ears, and detect smells (smell) with our noses. These verbs typically form what is known in English grammar as five-pattern sentences. We’ll explore this topic further later.
Usage of Complements with Other types of Verbs
Transitive verbs, which take objects, can also express ‘the start or change of an action or state’. This means an adjective can follow the verb. In fact, the classification of verbs is a matter of convention, and language is a living thing that can always produce new expressions. The following expression can be considered a conventional linguistic expression in English:
Shark: Dreams can begin small. <Shark Tale 2004>
Occasionally, we encounter expressions where a complement is used after a complete intransitive verb, as in:
JULIAN MARSH: Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star! (42ND STREET: 1933)
This line might be misunderstood as a farewell to someone leaving for a long journey, but in the scene, it is actually words of encouragement from the musical director to the female lead who is about to go on stage. He means that although she is unknown at the beginning, by the end of the performance, she must become a star. A similar sentiment is expressed in “The Dark Knight,” with the following quote from Harvey Dent, the White Knight, in contrast to Batman, the Dark Knight:
Harvey Dent: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. <The Dark Knight>
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