compliment, complement 与 supplement 这四个单词中，前两个词外形上易混，后两个词义上易混。
(1) ①compliment意为“恭维，赞扬，奉承话”。
- I take it as a compliment to be asked to speak.
我把受邀讲话视作一种恭维。 - Don't let compliments turn your head.
别让奉承的话弄昏了头脑。
②compliment还作“致意，问候”解，这时多用复数形式。
- Extend/Give my compliments to your parents.
请代我向你父母问候。 - With the compliments of the season.
(信末用语)顺祝时绥。
③pay sb. a compliment/compliments, pay a compliment (compliments) (to sb.)意为“恭维(某人)，赞扬(某人)，(向某人)表示敬意”。
- I suppose he's been paying you compliments .
我想他一直在恭维你。 - This was the first compliment he had ever paid her.
这是他第一次恭维她。
④return the compliment意为“报以赞扬、恭维的话，回敬”，可用于褒义，也可用于贬义。
- Mary said, “I love your new hairdo” and Susan returned the compliment with “What a pretty dress you are wearing, Mary.”
玛丽说：“我喜欢你的新发型。”而苏珊回敬道：“玛丽，你穿的衣服多漂亮啊。” - John punched Jerry in the nose, and Jerry returned the compliment.
约翰朝杰里的鼻子上猛击一拳，杰里也回敬了他。
(2) ①complement意为“补充物，补足物”，是可数名词。
- We have a year-end bonus that is small but by no means negligible complement to our annual earnings.
我们有年终奖金，数额虽小，但对于我们的全年收入绝不是不重要的补充。 - Travel is an excellent complement to one's education.
旅行对一个人的教育是极好的补充。
②complement还可作“补足语”解。
In the sentence “When I turned round the corner I saw John running to catch the bus”, “running to catch the bus” is the complement to “John”.
在 “When I turned round the corner I saw John running to catch the bus” 一句中的“running to catch the bus”就是“John”的补足语。
(3) ①supplement意为“补充物，补充(的东西)”，在此意义上，与complement接近。
- The night courses are an important supplement to my regular course work.
晚上的课程对我的正常课程来说，是一个重要补充。 - She has been ill and must have some supplements to her ordinary food.
她病了，必须在普通食物之外吃些补品。
②supplement还作“(书报的)补篇，增刊”解。
- This history has a supplement containing an account of what has happened since the founding of the republic.
这部历史书有一个续篇，对共和国成立以来所发生的事情作了说明。 - At the end of the book there's a supplement of verb table.
本书末附有一个补充的动词表。
