Direct Objects and Indirect Objects To understand this presentation, you should be comfortable with the the parts of speech units on nouns, linking and.

Direct Objects and Indirect Objects

To understand this presentation, you should be comfortable with the the parts of speech units on nouns, linking and action verbs, prepositions, and pronouns.

Direct objects are always nouns or pronouns that receive the action of the verb. In other words, if the subject of the sentence does something, the direct object is the noun or pronoun that will feel the effect of that action. For example

Adam cut the grass in the backyard.Ask yourself “what was cut” and you know that your direct object is

“grass.”

Some rules to bear in mind when working with direct objects.1. they are always nouns or pronouns2. they usually follow the verb3. they work only with action verbs4. they are never in a prepositional phrase.5. not all sentences will have a direct object

• A tried and true process for finding direct objects is to follow these steps.1. Find an action verb in the sentence. If you don’t have an action verb,

you can’t have a direct object.2. cross out the prepositional phrases3. look for a noun after the verb that receives the action of the verb. If

there is only one noun after the action verb, that noun or pronoun is the direct object.

Now you try to follow the process to find the direct object with the following sentence.

At the mall Lauren purchased her own copy of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

1. Is there an action verb?2. cross out the prepositional phrases.3. are there any nouns left that were not in any prepositional phrase?4. does that noun or nouns receive the action of the verb?5. what is the direct object?

• Follow the steps above and see if your answers match those on the next slide

• Follow the process yourself and see if you can find any direct objects.

After dinner Clara reviewed in her history book the material for the test.

• Try another

We offered a different piece of the puzzle to each team.

• Try to find the direct objects in this sentence.

During their trip Tony and Matt traveled along each of the trails up the mountain.

• Try this one –

Melissa saw each of the films over her vacation.

Here is another –

Despite the pressure of the game the pitcher seemed cool and calm.

Despite the pressure of the game the pitcher seemed cool and calm.

1. There is no action verb in the sentence; “seemed” is always a linking verb.2. Therefore, there can be no direct object.

• Try this one

Over the summer Eric brought Nick and Chris to several games of their favorite team.

See if some of these sentences make looking for a direct object a bit more interesting.

Ben tasted the two different chili recipes and then ordered a large serving of each.

Now try this one

This pizza’s crust did not taste good to me and so I like that one better.

Here’s another one --

We met each of the candidates on separate occasions long before the election.

• But what if there are other nouns after the action verb, and there are no conjunctions? That is when you have indirect objects. For example, look at this sentence, which has an indirect object. You should just try to find the direct object first, and see what noun or pronoun is left over.

Sunil purchased both of us souvenirs from his trip back to India.

Try this sentence – look for both indirect and direct objects

Chris gave her mother the news about the incredible success of the team just yesterday.

Try another

We provided both Andy and Phil the necessary equipment for the climb.

Try this sentence --

We spoke to the two of them for a long time about the difficulties ahead.

Try another sentence

To the archaeological committee Marissa presented conclusive evidence in the form of photographs and several artifacts from the ancient tomb.

Two more to go – try this one

The unknown donor offered at the special assembly the best math student an opportunity of a lifetime.

And now, for the last sentence --

Randi gave some lucky people a share of her lottery winning.

• Finis