Chapter 2. My Family

What Do Subject and Object Mean?

In a sentence with subject, object and verb, the subject is the person or thing that is doing something or being something. In other words, the subject is the actor of the action. The object, on the other hand, is the person or thing at which the above action is directed and to which the action is done. In other words, the object is the recipient or the target of the action. In the sentence Kamran cleaned the room, Kamran is the subject (actor), as he is doing the action (cleaning), the room is the object (target of the action) because the action (cleaning) is done to the room, and cleaned is the verb.

What Is an Indirect Object?

A sentence may have one or more objects. The objects, in turn, may be indirect or direct. An indirect object means the object (target of the action) that requires a special connector word (preposition) such as to, at, from, toward and so on in order to be used with the verb. This preposition stands in front of the object and thus points to the person or thing at whom the action is directed. In the sentence The student looked at the board, the word student is the subject (actor), while the word board is the object. The word at is the preposition that points to the object (the board). Therefore, the word board here is the indirect object as it does not follow the verb directly but, rather, it follows a connector word (preposition at) which is required in order for the object to be used with the verb correctly. It would be incorrect to say The student looked the board.

What Is a Direct Object?

A direct object, on the other hand, means that the object does not require connector words (prepositions) in order to be used with the verb correctly. In the sentence Kamran cleaned the room, Kamran is the subject (actor) and the word room is the object (recipient of the action). The word room here is the direct object, as it does not require any prepositions (such as to, at, from, toward, etc.) in order to be used with the verb correctly