Objects in English Grammar


In an English sentence usually the subject of a sentence‏‎ does something to an object. The object is the thing or person which is affected by the subject and the verb‏‎.

Patricia ate the cake.

The subject of this sentence is Patricia. She is the ‘star actor’. The verb is ate and this tells us what she does. The object of the sentence is the cake and this is the thing affected by Patricia’s action.

The object is most often a noun phrase‏‎ and it usually comes after the verb in an SVO sentence:

{subject} + {verb} + {object}

The king + captured + the castle atop the hill.

I + kicked + the ball.

He + has made + another record.

They + are watching + television.

Direct & Indirect Objects

Sometimes we can have a sentence with two objects. We call these objects direct and indirect. The subject often gives the direct object to the indirect object.

{subject} + {verb} + {indirect object} + {direct object}

I + bought + my sister + a present.

The man in the hat + took + the mechanic + the broken car.

See the main article, Direct & Indirect Objects.


Did you know that if you subscribe to our website, you will receive email notifications whenever content changes or new content is added.
1. Enter your e-mail address below and click the Sign Me Up button.
2. You will receive an email asking you to confirm your intention of subscribing to our site.
3. Click the link in the email to confirm. That’s all there is to it!

Enter your email address below to subscribe to IWeb TEFL.

Note: if you wish to unsubscribe from our site, click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email you received.
Then indicate you no longer wish to receive our emails.

Thank You
IWeb TEFL Team


Posted in Sentence Structure.

Leave a Reply