Factitive Verbs

Factitive Verbs:

A factitive verb is a form of transitive verb that takes both an object and Object complement, the two of which are used in apposition. 

Example - 

John called his friend a liar. 

( John - Subject, called - factitive verb, his friend - Object, a liar - objective complement)

Now there are two questions. 

• What is an object?

• What is an objective complement? 

Direct Object  - 

 A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a 'transitive verb'. 

Object (Objective) Complement - 

A word or a phrase that follows the direct object to rename or describe it, is known as an Object complement. 

• As an objective complement, we use Noun (or Noun phrase), Pronoun,  Adjective (or Adjective phrase).  

       

The most common Factitive verbs are  :

Appoint, call, choose, consider, elect, find, make, think, name, select etc. 

Here are some examples of Factitive verbs used in sentences :

Appoint -

The school appointed him principal.  

Call - 

Newton called his dog diamond. 

Choose  - 

The team chose him their leader. 

Leave - 

I left my work incomplete. 

Consider - 

We consider him honest. 

Find - 

The judge found him guilty. 

Make -

The emperor made him the governor. 

Name - 

The organization named him chief executive officer.