Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
A transitive verb takes a
direct object (She bit me) as
opposed to an intransitive
verb, which doesn’t (He swam
home) or (He swam in the
pool).
In the dictionary, a transitive verb is indicated by vt,
and intransitive verb by vi.
The direct object is not
the subject of the
sentence, it’s the noun
receiving the action. The
object isn’t doing anything,
it’s having something done
to it. A sentence doesn’t
need a direct object to be
a sentence.
Example: Jenny threw the
flowers.
Explanation: Jenny is the
subject; she’s the one
doing the throwing.
Flowers is the object; they
aren’t doing anything, but
something is being done to
them—they are being
thrown.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
Underline the subject, circle the verb, box-in the direct
object, and double underline the prepositional phrase.
Example: Russell and Amanda
feared the loss as friends.
In this sentence ask yourself,
“Feared what or who?” Answer:
the loss.So “loss” is the direct
object.
Remember: The noun doing the
action is the subject. The
noun receiving the action is the
direct object.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
Underline the subject, circle the verb, box-in the direct
object, and double underline the prepositional phrase.
Example: 50 Cent
threw kisses to
Lindsay upon her
mother’s orders.
In this sentence ask yourself,
“Threw what?”
Answer: kisses. So “kisses” is
the direct object of the verb
threw.
 To help you find the direct
object, first eliminate the
prepositional phrases.
 50 Cent threw kisses to Lindsay
upon her mother’s orders.
 Only nouns that are not the
subject can be direct objects.
By eliminating prepositonal
phrases (which always end in
a noun), it makes finding the
direct object much easier.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
Underline the subject, circle the verb, box-in the direct
object, and double underline the prepositional phrase.
Example: Matt and Katie gagged
the principal then stole his car.
In this sentence ask yourself,
“Who did they gag?” Answer:
the principal. Also, ask yourself,
“What did they steal?” Answer:
his car.
Remember: The noun doing the
action is the subject. The
noun receiving the action is
the direct object.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
 Example: Tyler loves sushi.
Ask yourself: What did Tyler love?
Answer. Sushi. So, sushi is the
direct object because it is
receiving the action of being loved.
Here’s another one:
 Example: Mallory and Jarred
robbed a store and stole an
O-Town CD.
 Ask Yourself: What did they rob?
Answer: a store. So, store is the
direct object of rob because it is
receiving the action of being
robbed.
 Ask yourself: What did they
steal?
Answer: an O-Town CD. So, an OTown CD is the direct object of
steal because it is receiving
the action of being stolen.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Direct Objects
into your English Notebook
under “Things That Make
Ya Go, Hmmm!”
 Example: Angie found the matches
and started a bonfire in the quad.
Ask yourself: What did Angie find?
 Answer: matches. So, matches is
the direct object because it is
receiving the action of being found.
Ask yourself: What did Angie
start?
 Answer: bonfire. So, bonfire is
the direct object because it is
receiving the action of being
started.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Indirect
Objects into your English
Notebook under “Things
That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!”
 You need a direct object to have
an indirect object. An indirect
object is really an understood
prepositional phrase.
Example: Alex threw David the
flowers.
 Answer: Flowers is the direct
object, and David is the indirect
object
 Ask yourself: “What did the
subject throw?”
Answer: flowers
 Ask yourself, “To whom did the
subject throw the flowers?”
Answer: to David
 Explanation: By answering “to
David,” it is an understood
prepositional phrase because
the word “to” is not in the
sentence.
Eye See We’re Done for Today
Please, copy the following
info about Indirect
Objects into your English
Notebook under “Things
That Make Ya Go, Hmmm!”
 Remember, an indirect object is
really an understood prepositional
phrase. It names the person (or
thing) to whom (or to what) or for
whom (or for what) something is
done.
However: When the word naming
the indirect receiver of the action
is contained in a prepositional
phrase, it is no longer
considered an indirect object.
 Example: Jason gave her a
diamond.
 Ask yourself: “Gave what?”
 Answer: a diamond. Therefore,
diamond is receiving the action of
being given and is the direct
object.
Ask yourself, “To whom or what
was the diamond given?”
 Answer: to her. Her is the
indirect object.
Example: Jason put on an
expensive coat for her.
Ask yourself, “Put what?”
Answer: There is no logical
answer, so the verb is
intransitive and “her” is the
object of the preposition
“for.” Sorry, but it gets
tricky some times.