Direct Object

The Direct Object

The direct object is the noun that receives the action of the transitive verb.

Typically, a direct object follows the verb and can be found by asking who or what received the action of the verb.

[In the following examples, the direct object is bold and the verb is underlined.]

* After dinner, Matthew always serves a cake.

* To determine the direct object, ask whom or what was acted on by the verb.

* To the average citizen, politics offers considerable frustration.

* Although the direct object follows the verb, an adjective may be between the verb and object.

* Christine discovered a pile of books hidden under the staircase.

* Look for the object that receives the action of the verb, and don't be fooled by the object of a preposition such as BOOKS in this sentence.

* After class, Randall will carry the students' papers to his office.

* Once you identify the verb, ask whether the verb was done to someone or something. e.g. Will Randall carry someone or something? Yes, he will carry PAPERS. Therefore, PAPERS receives the action of the verb.

* The police have arrested the man who committed the robberies.

* Identify the subject, find the verb the subject is engaged in, determine if it is an action verb and then ask who or what is receiving the action.

In some cases the direct object may follow the indirect object.

[In the following examples, the direct object is bold and the indirect object is underlined.]

* During the play's intermission, Alice gave Tracy her coat to hold.

* The object receiving the action of the verb—in other words the object that ALICE GAVE—is COAT, making it the direct object. TRACY received the direct object, making her the indirect object.

* Stephen offered his brother a chance to win a million dollars.

* To determine the direct object find the verb and ask who or what the verb acted upon.

* The director assigned the team a project that everyone...