Direct object
a direct object is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb in a sentence. It answers the question "what" or "whom" after the verb. Here's a step-by-step explanation of direct objects
1. Identify the subject and verb in the sentence. The subject is typically the person or thing that is doing the action, while the verb is the action being performed. For example, in the sentence "John ate an apple," "John" is the subject and "ate" is the verb.
2. Ask the question "what" or "whom" after the verb. In the example sentence, you would ask "What did John eat?" The answer is "an apple."
3. The answer to the question "what" or "whom" is the direct object. In this case, "an apple" is the direct object.
4. You can confirm that "an apple" is the direct object by rephrasing the sentence using a pronoun for the direct object. The sentence would then become "John ate it," where "it" replaces "an apple."
Some additional examples:
- Sarah read a book. (What did Sarah read? A book.)
- They painted the walls. (What did they paint? The walls.)
- I saw her at the park. (Whom did I see? Her.)
- The teacher assigned homework. (What did the teacher assign? Homework.)