Identify the word that best describes the underlined word for the following question.

The lawyers advised _the client_ to stay silent while in court.

A. direct object
B. indirect object

B. indirect object

explain

In the sentence, "The lawyers advised the client to stay silent while in court," the phrase "the client" is the indirect object. This is because the direct object is the noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb directly. In this case, the direct object is "to stay silent," as it is the action being advised. The indirect object, on the other hand, is the recipient of the direct object or the one for whom the action is being done. In this case, "the client" is the recipient of the advice or the one for whom the advice is being given. Therefore, "the client" functions as the indirect object in this sentence.

A. direct object

To identify the word that best describes the underlined word, "the client", we first need to understand the function of this word in the sentence. In this case, "the client" is the recipient or target of the lawyers' advice. They are being advised to stay silent while in court.

Now, let's determine whether "the client" is a direct object or an indirect object.

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb directly. It answers the question "whom" or "what" after the verb. In this case, the verb is "advised." If we ask "whom" the lawyers advised, the answer is "the client."

An indirect object, on the other hand, is a noun or pronoun that comes before the direct object and indicates to whom or for whom the action is done. It answers the question "to/for whom" or "to/for what" after the verb. In this sentence, we do not have a preposition indicating an action done for or to someone or something other than the direct object.

Therefore, in the sentence "The lawyers advised the client to stay silent while in court," "the client" is acting as the direct object. So, the word that best describes "the client" is A. direct object.