Sentence Factory · Today with The Mayor

Sentence Objects

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kicked what? The ball. A noun direct object.

Sentence Objects

Every sentence is built from two halves. Work through each one, then test it on the line.

Subject

Predicate

The direct object: what receives the action

The direct object is the noun or pronoun that receives the action. Say the verb and ask "what?" or "whom?" In "Maya kicked the ball," kicked what? The ball. A pronoun can be a direct object too: "Maya kicked it."

On the line

Maya kicked the ball .

kicked what? The ball. A noun direct object.

Billy hit me .

hit whom? Me. A pronoun can be a direct object too.

Now you try

Say the verb and ask "what?" The answer is your direct object.

The indirect object: to or for whom

The indirect object is the noun or pronoun that receives the direct object: the to-whom or for-whom. In "Maya gave Diego the ball," the ball is the direct object, and Diego is the indirect object. It comes right after the verb, before the direct object.

On the line

Maya gave Diego the ball .

gave the ball (direct object) to Diego (indirect object).

Now you try

Put a noun right after the verb that you could reword with "to" or "for."

How to find them

Say the verb, then ask "what?" to find the direct object. If a noun comes before it, ask "to whom?" or "for whom?" to find the indirect object. Not every verb takes an object; one that does is a transitive verb.

On the line

Sofia read the book .

read what? The book. One direct object, no indirect object.

Now you try

Subject does the verb; the verb lands on the direct object; the indirect object receives it.