Questions tagged [direct-objects]
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In grammar terminology, what sentence structure terminology is used to describe the infinitive-looking phrase after the verb “told”?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The sentences below prove that the infinitive form of verbs as well as the gerund form can be used in the object position of the sentence structure S-V-O.
I like toys. (...
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Complex object grammar and other things [closed]
I've seen a number of different phrases in different books describing the action of closing a door, and I'm not quite sure that I fully understand the grammar behind them. For example:
(1) [He] ...
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3answers
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In the sentence “Go help yourself”, is 'yourself' both the direct object and the subject?
In the sentence "Go help yourself", is 'yourself' both the direct object and the subject?
Can a subject and direct object be the exact same word in a sentence? If not, what is 'yourself' here?
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Misunderstanding the use of me/him/her/them/us
I'm aware that when the pronoun is also the object of a sentence we use these: me instead of I, them instead of they and so on.
But when I say:
He is a teacher, and her?
Why do I say her instead ...
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2answers
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parenthetical sentence with coordinate clause sharing the same direct object
Is this grammatical in English?
An Italian wizard named Mirkius has found, and managed to control, a ferocious creature named Onestus
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2answers
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Which pronoun should be used after the word ‘like’? [closed]
For example, which of the following is considered correct?:
Don't be like him
Don't be like he is
There are other examples I can't think of right now where people use him instead of ...
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2answers
54 views
Direct and Indirect objects in “I take my kids to school”
In the sentence
I take my kids to school.
I would be the subject and the verb would be take.
Now, as the verb take is acted upon the kids, I thought my kids was the direct object and the school ...
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1answer
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Transitive verbs without direct objects
My linguistics teacher said the sentence "She put the book on the table." is wrong without 'on the table' part. I disagree with him.
Isn't in a sense transitive verbs also intransitive when you speak ...
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1answer
125 views
Indirect object pronoun before direct object
I have seen a few people say that indirect objects that are in the form of a pronoun should be placed before the direct object in a sentence. Why is that? I didn’t know it mattered. For example:
“I ...
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1answer
58 views
Does 'neighbour', as a verb, take a direct object?
I heard, today, on an American documentary, the word 'neighbour' used as a verb, something I had not come across before. The OED tells me that the verb is obsolete or rare, but seems to have come back ...
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1answer
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What distinguishes a predicative complement from an object?
Asked this on ELL but with no answer:
What makes be an intransitive verb? How do we know that the analysis of It is me as transitive by tradtional grammars is incorrect?
Take for example:
1. I gave ...
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1answer
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Which is the direct object and which is the object complement in this sentence? [duplicate]
I was reading a book on English grammar and it stated that the object complement may also be an adjective. In the sentence "Roger called George heartless", Roger was the subject, called was the verb, ...
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infinitive functions : adverb or direct object?
we were given the following questions by our teacher and the answers didn't make sense. hope you guys can explain.
They needed to have a degree in engineering, physics and mathematics. - adverb was ...
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Can the object be moved to the front like this?
I have found this sentence and am wondering whether it is correct:
“What you don’t like, I don’t like either.”
I think it is an alternative way of writing the sentence “I don’t like what you don’t ...
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2answers
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Terminology: Definition of the term “direct object”
In Michael Swan's "Practical English Usage", he states in section 16.1:
Many verbs besides auxiliaries can be followed by forms of other verbs
(or by structures including other verbs). This can ...
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What is the function of these prepositional phrases coming after V + DO with the verbs “clear” and “nudge”?
I would like to know what structural elements (form) would you consider to describe the function of the prepositional phrases in these sentences:
Chris Christie’s announcement Tuesday cleared the ...
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3answers
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“I remember the advice he gave to me” Why add preposition to?
While I was reading a book, I stumbled upon a sentence "I remember the advice he gave to me".
From my understanding, give can be used in two ways.
First. Give + IO + DO. For example, "He gave me an ...
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1answer
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Can an entire phrase consisting of a noun and a prepositional phrase modifying the noun be considered the direct object?
I have two questions related to the following sentence:
I saw pictures of animals.
My first question is, what is the direct object of the sentence?
(a) The direct object is pictures.
(b) The ...
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2answers
275 views
Does being in the accusative case guarantee the existence of a direct object?
I want to clear this matter up once and for all. Even though I have already asked a few questions on the site related to the nominative case and the accusative case, I still get confused by one ...
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1answer
201 views
Possible semantic roles for direct object
What are all possible semantic roles of direct object in English? also is there any dictionary which tells us about semantic role of direct object for transitive verbs?
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1answer
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I don't care what they say
I don't care about what they say.
In the sentence above, they phrase what they say, is presumably the complement of the preposition about, and the preposition phrase about what they say is ...
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1answer
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What is the meaning of *them* in this sentence? I mean what does them refer to in this sentence? [duplicate]
Do you remember the first time you talked about our future together and I said: “I’ll think about it later”?
I lied. I lied that I can be with you forever and never leave.
Do you remember our ...
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1answer
902 views
Which one is the direct object and indirect object?
Everyone is looking at us.
In the above sentence, "to look" is the verb, "everyone" the subject. Is "us" a direct object or indirect object?
How do you find the DO and IO?
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Diagramming a Sentence with a Causative Verb
For a Reed–Kellogg sentence diagram, how would you diagram a sentence with a causative verb like "made"? For example:
The hot weather made her want to swim.
I understand that "weather" is the ...
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2answers
465 views
what is the direct object & the indirect object in the sentence in my post
I am trying to learn about direct and indirect objects. My question is sadly very simple but I'm unsure.
In the sentence below what is the direct object & what is the indirect object?
She should ...
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1answer
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What type of object is 'whom' in this sentence?
In the sentence
Whom is she calling?
what type of object is whom?
Is whom an indirect object because she is doing the calling to a person referred to as whom?
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2answers
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Since the rules do not forbid “I brought him him”, can I therefore say it that way?
I’ve searched about direct and indirect objects, and all explanations have led me to think that I could say this:
?I brought him him.
Is that allowed? I think it should be, since the rules governing ...
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0answers
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Direct object's placement [duplicate]
According to Longman's English grammar's book:
We can use two objects after verbs like give and buy.
Instead of: Give the book to me, we can say: Give me the book.
lnstead of: Buy the book for ...
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Direct and indirect object with “give” and “buy”
I have been studying Longman's English grammar book, and something is really confusing me:
We can put it and them after the verb: Give it to me. Buy them for me. Do it for me.
With e.g. give and buy, ...
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3answers
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Repeating the object in a list of transitive verbs
You have received this proposal. Please decide whether you would like
to accept it or reject it.
Is it correct to repeat the object it in this sentence or should I skip it until the last verb? For ...
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Position of direct object and prepositional phrase
I send something to someone.
/I send to someone something.
I made a cake for my mother.
/I made for my mother a cake.
I know with certainty that in these pair of sentences the first ones are ...
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Can we put prepositional phrases between transitive verbs and their direct object?
Can we write like this: You should not keep in a doghouse a dog that is used to a steam - heated apartment?
The original sentence is: You should not keep a dog that is used to a steam - heated ...
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1answer
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Can a prepositional phrase act as an indirect object?
For example, in the sentence: I baked a cake for my mom.
Direct object (DO): cake
Indirect object (IO): for my mom
Some webpages say IO can only come before DO
While others explain that a ...
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1answer
559 views
Reflexive pronoun: direct object or predicate noun?
In the sentence:
He considered himself wise.
I would parse this as
He - subject
considered - transitive verb
himself - direct object
wise = object complement adjective
My kids ask me ...
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1answer
336 views
Is it possible for a sentence to have a direct object and predicate adjective?
In school, I was taught that action verbs have direct objects and linking verbs have predicate adjectives or nominatives; however, some verbs seem to use both simultaneously.
For example, in "I made ...
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2answers
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Indirect objects that answer the question “by whom”
Here is a sentence from Chapter Seventeen of Huckleberry Finn. The sentence appears in a grammar worksheet:
When I got to the three log doorsteps I heard them unlocking and
unbarring and ...
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2answers
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“The mixture was added water”: Is “add” a double-object verb?
The mixture was added water.
This sentence, written by a non-native speaker, seems somehow odd to me, but I cannot say that I find it at all ambiguous. This example sentence is written by a speaker ...
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Indirect object? Direct object? In active voice? In passive voice?
The following sentence has an active voice verb and an indirect object (IO) me and a direct object (DO) book:
"Jeff gave me a book."
As I understand, a passive voice verb comprises (1) a form of the ...
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0answers
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“They survived the journey” is journey a direct object?
In the sentence:
"There was no guarantee that the travelers would survive the journey."
Would "the journey" be considered a direct object, or what would it be?
In this sentence nothing seems to ...
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1answer
128 views
They also serve who only stand and wait. What is the function of “who only…wait”?
Is the part "who only ...wait" a noun clause acting as direct object?
I am confused because the verb "serve" is shown to be an intransitive verb in the book in this particular example.
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What is the real difference between direct objects and prepositional phrases?
I'm a fairly new ESL teacher. One of my students asked me recently why "...to comply with the rules of grammar" needs a preposition (with), whereas "...to follow the rules of grammar" doesn't. After ...
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4answers
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What is the direct object in the sentence “He causes you difficulty”?
I'm confused because if I said "he cause you to go home", the "you" would be the direct object, correct? But if I said "cause you difficulty", I would think that the direct object would be 'difficulty"...
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2answers
846 views
Direct object before indirect object
In this article on the changes in English grammar the author says:
How untrammelled the English passive is, may be seen in the fact that, not content with a construction like “A book was given him,”...
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1answer
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Use 'conform' verbally in a sentence taking a direct object
Give me an example of a sentence using the verb 'conform' + direct object. I'm aware that this is usually used in a prepositional phrase however I'm wondering how it might be used without it.
So give ...
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If the direct object is also doing an action can it be a subject?
For example in a simple sentence such as:
Jim saw another man eat a cow.
I know that "Jim" is the subject, and "another man" is the direct object. But then is "another man" a subject as well ...
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4answers
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How can I diagram the direct object placement in “… the watch that my uncle had given me.”
Please consider:
"... the watch that my uncle had given me."
"my uncle" is the subject.
"had given" is the main verb (past perfect).
so...
"me" is an indirect object? or should it really be "had ...
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2answers
370 views
How do I differentiate between direct and indirect object with an object of a preposition present?
I am working on the following sentence:
They will look toward me, whom they pierced.
I am aware that a basic rule to identifying an indirect object is to ask, "to whom?" However, in this case, I am ...
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1answer
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In what case can the object be placed at the beginning of a sentence?
Every word I say is true; this I promise you.
I think the pronoun 'this' is the direct object of the verb 'promise' and 'this' should be be placed after 'you', but it is placed at the beginning of ...
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4answers
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Is 20 dollars here a direct object or a predicate complement? 'This book cost me 20 dollars.'
In this sentence:
This book cost me 20 dollars.
Is 20 dollars a direct object or a predicative complement?
