Colégio Elizângela Filomena

English Assignment
Theme: Direct object

Teacher: Kiaco Fernando

 English Assignment
Theme: Direct object

Participants: Carlos Morais

Ismael da Costa
Clara Matari
Aida Almeida
Enzo Santos

Luanda
2022
Index
Introduction
1- The Direct Object
1.1- Rules on the use of the direct object
1.1.2- We use Direct Object with transitive verbs only
1.1.3- DO NOT use Direct Object with linking verbs
1.1.4- How to find the Direct Object
1.1.5- If Direct Object is a pronoun, the pronoun must be in objective
case
1.1.6- Phrases and clauses can be Direct Objects
Introduction

In the present assignment we will talk about the direct object, its definition, use
and examples. In the present assignment we will try to understand how the direct
object is used in the English language, remembering that the Portuguese equivalent
of the direct object is the "complemento directo".
1-The Direct Object

What is a Direct Object?

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the sentence. The
direct object answers “whom?” or “what?” in regards to the verb.
In English grammar, a direct object is a word or phrase that receives the action of
the verb. In the sentence The students eat cake, the direct object is cake; the word
eat is the verb and cake is what's being eaten.
The normal order of an English sentence is subject-verb-object, like this:

subject verb object

He kicked the ball.

In the above sentence, the action or verb is "kicked". The subject (He) performed
the action (kicked). And the object (the ball) received the action.
Strictly speaking, "the ball" is the direct object, and the direct
object directly received the action of the verb.
Let's look at some more examples:

subject verb direct object

The teacher explained the rules.

Cats eat fish.

 John loves Mary.

I like chocolate.

They have bought a new car.

The company is considering my proposal.

Notice that in all the above cases the subject is "doing" the action, and the direct
object (D.O.) is receiving or undergoing the action.
A direct object can be one word or several words. It can be:
 noun (People eat rice.)
 noun phrase (They bought a big red car.)
 pronoun (I love you.)
 phrase (Tara hates cleaning the house.)
 clause (I love when he tells jokes.)
1.1-Rules On The Use Of The Direct Object

1.1.2 We use Direct Object with transitive verbs only

We DO NOT use direct objects with all verbs. Only a transitive verb can have a
direct object. With a transitive verb the action "transits" from the
subject through the verb to the direct object (He kicked the ball). The verb kick is a
transitive verb because it can have a direct object. But verbs like live, die, cough,
sit do not pass any action to something else—they are intransitive and have NO
object. Look at these examples—each transitive verb on the left has a direct object,
and each intransitive verb on the right has no object:

transitive verb with direct object intransitive verb with NO object

They put off the wedding. Smoke rises.

Most people like ice cream. John was sleeping.

He drinks wine. I will go first.

The mechanic has fixed our car. He died in 1989.

He likes Tara. She lived for 100 years.

1.1.3-DO NOT use Direct Object with linking verbs
Verbs like be, seem, smell, taste do not express action. Instead, they are like an
equals sign (=) in mathematics. They are linking verbs. Look at these examples:
 Mr Brown is my teacher. (Mr Brown = my teacher)
 It seems strange. (It = strange)
 It became cold. (It = cold)
There is no direct object in the above sentences because linking verbs do not
perform any action. (In the above sentences, my teacher, strange and cold are
"subject complements".)

1.1.4-How to find the Direct Object

To check whether a direct object (D.O.) exists in a sentence, and to identify it, ask
"what?" or "whom?" about the verb.
The teacher explained the rules.
WHAT did the teacher explain? D.O. - the rules
John loves Mary.
WHOM does John love? D.O. - Mary
He died in 1989.
WHAT did he die? (no D.O.)
WHOM did he die? (no D.O.)
1.1.5-If Direct Object is a pronoun, the pronoun must be in objective case
Remember that pronouns can have subjective and objective case, like this:

personal pronouns

subjective case objective case

I me
you you
he, she, it him, her, it
we us
they them

When the direct object is a pronoun, the pronoun MUST be in objective case. Look
at these examples:
 Fred helped me.
 Does she like him?
 I told them.
The interrogative pronoun who also has an objective case: whom.
Whom did she tell?
She told me.
But note that English speakers often say who, even when whom would be
grammatically correct. So, for example, you will often hear sentences like "Who
did she tell?" spoken by native English speakers. BUT you will never hear
sentences like "She told I" or "John helped they" spoken by a native speaker.
Personal pronouns used as objects MUST be in objective case.
1.1.6-Phrases and clauses can be Direct Objects
As indicated above, a direct object doesn't have to be a single noun or pronoun. It
can also be a complete noun phrase, a phrase or a clause. Look at these examples:
 We bought a brand new BMW sports car.
 Everybody loves eating chocolate.
 Johnny wants to go and play football.
 Please describe what you saw when you arrived.
 He thought that the show had started.

The direct object can appear in positive sentences, negative sentences, question
sentences and imperative sentences. Here are some examples showing the direct
object in different types of sentence:

 James Bond changed his clothes and phoned Mother.

 The gardener cut the grass and trimmed the hedge.
 Hillary wrote two emails but then she deleted them.
 Do you want tea or coffee?
 Will you meet John?
 Why did you break her favourite toy?
 Can you make some fruit cakes and bring them to the party?
 When did you discover your talent for playing music?
 Shoot him!
 Don't kill him!
Conclusion
In this assignment we talk about the direct object for a better understanding of
English grammar, we saw what it is, how and when it appears, how to identify it
and we also saw some examples we hope that this investigation will allow us to
learn more about the English language.
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