It can be hard to understand the different parts of a sentence.If you want to pass an English class, you may need to learn how to do this.The direct object is one part of a sentence.The object tells us who did it and what happened to it.If you decide to learn a foreign language, practicing how to identify this part of a sentence will help you.
Step 1: The purpose of the object should be considered.
A direct object is always followed by an action verb.An action verbs requires something or someone to receive it.A sentence without a direct object may not make sense.If you removed the direct object from the sentence, it would no longer make sense that Dennis and Johanna ate omelettes for breakfast.The eating was done for omelettes in the example of Dennis and Johanna.
Step 2: To find the subject of the sentence, look at it.
The person doing something in a sentence is the subject of the sentence.You can find out who is performing the action in a sentence by asking yourself what.Who did Sam show his mother the new museum?Sam did.What did he do?The new museum was shown to his mother.You can see that the museum is the direct object if you ask yourself, "What or whom was shown?"
Step 3: The direct object can be found in sentences with action verbs.
There is a better chance that a direct object will receive the action of a sentence with an action verbs.They gave Jeremy the money is an example of a transitive action verbs that requires a direct object.The subject is transitive.If you left the sentence at "they gave Jeremy", it would no longer make sense.This is a direct object.Money is the direct object because it is what was given.The money was given to Jeremy.
Step 4: Keep in mind that there can be more than one object.
There may be more than one direct object in a sentence.Clauses can be misleading, so think about who is receiving the action of the verbs.John took his backpack and books to school.If you ask yourself, what does John love, you will see that the answer is baking cakes.
Step 5: Some sentences will not have an object.
Not all sentences have a direct object.If there is a "linking" verbs in the sentence.The state of being is a "seem, remain, feel" or an "intransitive action" verbs.If it doesn't contain a direct object, then it is sneezed, danced, cried.There is an example of a linking verbs in the following sentence: "They are stubborn children."In this example, the pronoun "feels" simply explains the state of the subject.If you ask yourself, "Who or what did Hannah sneeze?" you will find that there is no answer in the sentence.
Step 6: Do you know who or what is getting the action?
The direct object in a sentence is always a person who received the action of the sentence.You can quickly identify the subject of the sentence, for example, "Alice baked her mother a cake."Was her mother baked?That is not what the sentence says.She baked a cake.What was baked?A cake!You have identified the object.
Step 7: Don't confuse the direct object with the subject complement.
A subject complement is a clause that describes the subject.Some linking verbs can also be used as action verbs, so it's easy to confuse them.There are many examples of linking verbs that can be used as action verbs.There is no need for an explanation of whom or what in the sentence, "Michelle felt sick."It requires an explanation of who or what was felt in this case, her forehead.The sentence would not make sense if you removed this information.
Step 8: Direct objects are always pronouns.
If you are trying to identify the direct object in a sentence, remember that it will either be a pronoun or a noun.If you can't remember what the word is, try reading the sentence again.If you want to identify the direct object, ask yourself, "To whom or what was the action done?"
Step 9: Keep word order in mind.
It can be helpful to identify the verb first because the direct object will always come after it.The word you are looking for will be after the verbs.If you are trying to identify a direct object in a foreign language, you should keep in mind that word order can vary dramatically among languages.