What is the function of "accountable?" [duplicate]

What is the function of "accountable?" I know it is an adjective describing people but is it a direct object?

I want to hold the people accountable

Solution 1:

It's an object (or objective) complement. From "Paint the Town Red: Adjectives as Object Complements" at Cambridge University Press's World of Better Learning:

• I painted the walls yellow.
  
• She left the door open.
  
• The new rules made my job harder.

In all of these sentences, the adjective in italics describes the object noun (underlined) not the subject noun (the walls are yellow, not me). This structure is only possible with a limited number of verbs, all of which indicate a cause or change of state: the walls were yellow after I painted them; she caused the door to stay open (by not closing it), and the new rules caused my job to become harder. Some common verbs that are used with object complements are leave, hold, find, keep, set, make, paint. However, many of the phrases are highly idiomatic: that is, while you can paint walls any color, there is a limited number of adjectives that can be object complements after verbs like hold:

• hold the door open
  
• hold the administration/government (or any official) accountable
  
• hold someone responsible
  
• hold something still/steady