Direct Object
D.O.
SUB
PRED
S.C.
I.O.
The direct object is the noun or
pronoun that receives the action of
the transitive action verb.
Popeye eats spinach.
I still love someone.
He greeted you and me.
When there is a direct object, we call the
action verb transitive because the verb
carries a transit of energy from the subject
to the object; when the action verb does
not act on a direct object, we call the
action verb intransitive. Linking verbs are
neither.
Notice that subject pronouns may not be
used as direct objects because a subject
is a subject, and an object is an object.
You cannot say James greeted you and I.
It must be James greeted you and me.
The direct object is the object of the
action. Passive voice action verbs do not
have direct objects because their subjects
are receiving action, not doing it:
The revolution was affected by the
drought.
Action is good: Sentences that have direct
objects are interesting. They have strength
because they have action; the subject is
doing something. The subject of the active
voice transitive action verb is doing
something to someone else, and this holds
the reader’s attention.
transitive action verb: The hungry traveler gobbled his food.
Intransitive action verb: The hungry traveler gobbled noisily.
Passive voice action verb: The food was gobbled noisily.
Linking verb: The traveler was hungry.
If we let AVP stand for action verb predicate, and D.O.
stand for direct object, we can analyze a sentence this
way, showing both level one and level two:
In the morning Euclid drew a hexagon in the sand.
prep. adj. n.
n.
v.
subj. AVP
adj.
n. prep. adj. n.
D.O.
Alexander greeted Sisygambis and her without diffidence.
n.
Subj.
v.
AVP
n.
conj. pron.
prep.
n.
------------------D.O.----------
Here we see a compound direct object, Sisygambis and
her, which receives the action of the active voice
transitive action verb greeted. Alexander, the subject,
does the greeting, and this energy transists through the
verb to the direct object, the two people who get
greeted. Note that an object pronoun, her, is used for
the direct object.
With serenity, Polonius ate a whole plate of fried drumsticks.
prep.
n.
n.
v.adj. adj. n. prep. adj.
subj. AVP
n.
D.O.
Notice that it is the plate that is the direct object;
the object of preposition is not eligible to be a
direct object.