Meaning & use
direct object
Last updated
UK/dəˌrekt ˈɒbdʒekt/
US/dəˌrɛkt ˈɑːbdʒɪkt/
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
In grammar, the noun, pronoun or phrase that receives the action of a transitive verb.
Grammar: Countable: a sentence usually has one direct object.
Patterns
- the direct object of a verb
In 'She kicked the ball', the ball is the direct object.
A transitive verb needs a direct object to complete its meaning.
Pronouns such as me, him and them can serve as direct objects.
Common combinations
- identify the direct object
- Students must identify the direct object in each sentence.
- direct object pronoun
- Lo is a direct object pronoun in Spanish.
- noun as a direct object
- The clause works as a direct object.
- verb takes a direct object
- The verb 'buy' takes a direct object.
Synonyms and how they differ
- object
- The shorter general term; it can mean direct or indirect object.
- complement
- A word completing a verb that does not receive its action, such as an adjective after be.
- patient
- A linguistics term for the entity affected by an action, wider than the grammatical role.
Word family
- indirect object noun
- the person or thing that receives the direct object
- transitive adjective
- taking a direct object
- objective adjective
- the grammatical case for objects
Commonly confused: direct object or indirect object?
direct object vs indirect object
The indirect object receives the direct object, as in 'gave her a book'.
Practice
In 'Maria baked a cake for us', what is the direct object?
Choose one answer.
The cake is what was baked, so it is the direct object. 'For us' is a prepositional phrase showing the beneficiary.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “direct object”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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