Formal verb complementation

Formal verbs often have strict patterns. Knowing the meaning of a verb is not enough: you also need to know whether it takes a noun, an object plus adjective, an -ing form, a preposition or a clause. Learn each verb together with its frame.

The verb decides what follows

Deem means consider or judge. A common formal pattern is deem + object + adjective / noun phrase:

The panel deemed the evidence inadmissible.
The conduct was deemed a breach of the agreement.

A that-clause is also possible: The panel deemed that the evidence was inadmissible. The object-complement pattern is often more concise, but it is not the only grammatical one.

Entail means involve as a necessary consequence. It usually takes a noun phrase or an -ing form:

The revised procedure entails a second review.
The change would entail checking every citation again.

Do not use a to-infinitive directly after entail: entails checking, not entails to check.

Preclude means make something impossible. It takes a noun phrase or a person/thing + from + -ing:

The delay does not preclude a later appeal.
The clause precludes the agency from releasing the records.

The preposition from is part of the pattern. Do not write preclude someone to do something.

Warrant means justify or call for. It often takes a noun:

The discrepancy warrants further investigation.

It can also take an -ing phrase in suitable contexts: The circumstances warrant reconsidering the deadline. Avoid adding a to-infinitive after warrant in this meaning.

Suffice means be enough. Common frames are suffice to do something, suffice for something and the fixed phrase suffice it to say:

One example will suffice to illustrate the point.
It should suffice for our immediate purposes.
Suffice it to say, the negotiations were difficult.

Keep the object and its complement together

With deem, the object comes before the describing phrase:

They deemed the proposal impractical.

The adjective describes proposal. Do not insert that between the object and adjective: deemed the proposal that impractical. This is different from a full that-clause: They deemed that the proposal was impractical.

Common mistakes

• The regulation entails to report every change. Use entails reporting every change.
• The clause precludes the agency to release the files. Use precludes the agency from releasing the files.
• The findings warrant to conduct another trial. Use warrant another trial / warrant conducting another trial.
• The panel deemed that proposal impractical is grammatical; do not confuse it with deemed that the proposal impractical, which lacks a finite verb in the that-clause.

Quick check

Complete each frame with a suitable form.

1. The contradiction warrants ______ (investigate).
2. The revised clause precludes the company ______ (publish) the results.
3. Introducing a control group would entail ______ (recruit) more participants.
4. One clear example should ______ to show the difference.

Answers: investigation / investigating; from publishing; recruiting; suffice. Notice that each verb chooses its own complement; do not transfer one verb’s pattern to another.

Learn the frame as part of the word

At an advanced level, a useful vocabulary note records more than a definition. For each formal verb, learn four things: meaning, complement pattern, voice, and register. The pattern often carries the precision of the claim.

A dictionary entry may give several patterns because a verb can take more than one kind of complement. Do not assume that two near-synonyms share a frame. Prevent takes prevent someone from doing something; stop can take stop someone doing something or stop someone from doing something; preclude does not normally take a direct to-infinitive. The safest habit is to record a whole example rather than a translation by itself.

Complements versus full clauses

With deem, compare the object-complement pattern with a finite clause:

The panel deemed the evidence insufficient.
The panel deemed that the evidence was insufficient.

In the first, the evidence is the object and insufficient describes it. In the second, the that-clause contains its own subject and finite verb. Do not blend them into deemed that evidence insufficient unless the phrase is clearly a noun phrase such as deemed that evidence insufficient with that meaning “that particular” (a possible but unusual reading). In ordinary prose, make the structure obvious.

Keep formal vocabulary natural

Formal verbs are useful when they express a precise relation, but replacing every simple verb with a Latinate one can make the writing stiff. The mismatch warrants investigation is concise and exact. The mismatch necessitates the undertaking of an investigation is longer without adding useful meaning. Check whether a simpler verb already says what you need.

Pay attention to subject choice, too. The evidence precludes a conclusion means the evidence makes that conclusion impossible; The evidence does not warrant a conclusion means it does not justify one. They are not interchangeable.

Guided practice

1. Complete: The revised method entails ___ the measurements independently. (check)
2. Rewrite using deem: The board judged the proposal impractical.
3. Choose precludes or does not warrant: The result is too uncertain to justify a causal claim.
4. Complete with a full clause: The panel deemed that the witness ___ mistaken. (be)

Answers and reasoning

1. checking. Entail takes a noun or -ing complement.
2. The board deemed the proposal impractical. The object is followed by its complement.
3. does not warrant. The sentence says there is not enough justification; it does not claim that a conclusion is impossible.
4. was (or is, depending on the time reference). The that-clause needs a finite verb.

Use complementation to express the relation precisely

The complement can determine whether the sentence reports a judgement, a necessary consequence or a justified response. Compare entail and warrant:

The new safeguard entails a second identity check.
The unusual result warrants a second identity check.

The first says the check is included or required as a consequence of adopting the safeguard. The second says the unusual result justifies doing a check. Choosing the wrong verb can turn an argument about evidence into an instruction.

Some verbs allow more than one frame, with a slightly different focus:

The panel deemed the claim unsubstantiated.
The panel deemed that the claim was unsubstantiated.

The first packages the judgement compactly; the second states the proposition. Suffice also has several patterns: One example will suffice, One example will suffice to illustrate the contrast, and One example will suffice for this purpose. In the fixed expression suffice it to say, the following clause is a comment on the discussion, not a missing object.

When you check a formal verb, look up a complete example that matches your intended meaning. A dictionary may list different senses with different complement patterns. The safer note is preclude someone from doing something, not just a translation of preclude.

Further reading

• Cambridge Dictionary: verb patterns
• Cambridge Dictionary: verbs followed by an infinitive or -ing form