Parts of a Sentence: The Direct Object

In everyday language, an object is a thing, something you can see or touch. But in grammar, an object can be a thing, a person, an animal, a place, a quality or an idea.

What is a direct object?

In English grammar, a direct object is a word (usually a noun or a pronoun) or a word group that follows an action verb and is the direct receiver of the action expressed in the verb.

What do we mean by the term direct receiver of the action? We mean that sometimes the action in a verb may be carried over onto some word or word group mentioned in the sentence. That word or word group is the receiver of the action and therefore the direct object. Here is an example:

• The big-game hunter shot the charging rhinoceros.

The verb is an action verb: shot. The subject is the person doing the action of shooting: the big-game hunter. But in this case, there is also a target, a direct receiver of the action of shooting: the charging rhinoceros. The noun rhinoceros is therefore the direct object of the action verb shot.

Why is the direct object the noun rhinoceros by itself instead of the noun phrase the charging rhinoceros? When the direct object is a noun phrase, we usually select the simple direct object—that means the noun by itself, without its modifiers.

Here are some other examples of direct objects:

• The neighbours’ poodle chased me.
  • (Action verb: chased. Direct object: the pronoun me)

• Brent likes selling gas in Saskatchewan.
  • (Action verb: likes. Direct object: the word group selling gas in Saskatchewan)

• I do not understand how your gerbil got into the laundry hamper.
  • (Action verb: do understand, modified by the adverb not. Direct object: the word group how your gerbil got into the laundry hamper)

How can I find the direct object in a sentence?

If you are wondering whether there is a direct object in a sentence, look for an action verb. If you find one, ask the questions what? or whom? after the verb. The word or word group that answers the question will be the direct object.

We can do that with each of these examples:

• The big-game hunter shot the charging rhinoceros.
  • (Shot what? The charging rhinoceros.)

• The neighbours’ poodle chased me.
  • (Chased whom? Me.)

• Brent likes selling gas in Saskatchewan.
  • (Likes what? Selling gas in Saskatchewan.)

• I do not understand how your gerbil got into the laundry hamper.
  • (Do not understand what? How your gerbil got into the laundry hamper.)

• Alison smiled pleasantly.
  • (Smiled what? There’s nothing to answer the question; in fact, the question doesn’t even make sense, so there’s no direct object.)

As you can see, direct objects are an important part of many sentences. Learning to recognize them will help you master sentence structure and become a better writer.