Object

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What Is an Object?

In grammar, an object is a noun or a pronoun that is acted upon by a verb or a preposition. For example:

• Jack saw a ghost.
(The object is "a ghost." It is a noun acted upon by the verb "saw.")
• I was living with a werewolf.
(The object is "a werewolf." It is a noun acted upon by the preposition "with.")
• I was living with her.
(The object is "her." An object can also be a pronoun.)

The Three Types of Object

There are three types of object:

(1) Direct Object

A direct object is the noun or pronoun acted upon directly by a verb. For example:

• I know Terry.
(The verb is "know.")
• Alison caught a butterfly.
(The verb is "caught.")

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Read more about direct objects.

(2) Indirect Object

An indirect object is the noun or pronoun that receives the direct object. For example:

• Give her the prize.
(In this example, the direct object is "the prize." "Her" is the recipient.)
• The manager always told his staff the truth.
(In this example, the direct object is "the truth." "His staff" is the recipient.)

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Read more about indirect objects.

(3) Object of a Preposition

The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun acted upon by a preposition. For example:

• Sit with the teachers.
(The preposition is "with.")
• Tony lives near me.
(The preposition is "near.")

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Read more about the objects of prepositions.

More Examples of Direct Objects

The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon. You can find the direct object by finding the verb and asking "what?" or "whom?". In each example below, the verb is in bold and the direct object is shaded.

• Please pass the butter.
(Step 1: Find the verb. Verb = pass)
(Step 2: Ask "what?". Q: Pass what? A: the butter)

• I don't have a bank account because I don't know my mother's maiden name. (Comedienne Paula Poundstone)
(Step 1: Find the verbs. Verbs = don't have and don't know)
(Step 2: Ask "what?" for each verb. Q: Don't have what? Don't know what? A: a bank account and my mother's maiden name.)

Direct objects can be pronouns too.

• Don't eat me. I have a wife and kids! Eat them! (Homer Simpson)
(Step 1: Find the verbs. Verbs = don't eat, have, and eat)
(Step 2: Ask "what?" for each verb. Q: Don't eat whom? Have what? Eat whom? A: me, a wife and kids, and them)

The verb could be a phrasal verb (e.g., to put down, to give up, to recover from).

• My cat is recovering from a massive stroke. (Comedian Darren Walsh)
(Step 1: Find the verb. Verb = is recovering from)
(Step 2: Ask "what?". Q: Is recovering from what? A: a massive stroke)

It can get complicated.

• The cat wants to eat our goldfish.
(Step 1. Find the verb. Verb = wants)
(Step 2. Ask "what?". Q: Wants what? A. to eat our goldfish)
(That seems easy enough, but note that the direct object has its own verb and direct object. (Q: Eat what? A: our goldfish.))

Don't forget that the term noun does not usually mean a single word. An object can be a single-word noun (e.g., dog, goldfish, man), a pronoun (e.g., her, it, him), a noun phrase (e.g., the doggy in window, to eat our goldfish, a man about town), or a noun clause (e.g., what the dog saw, how the goldfish survived, why man triumphed). Read more about direct objects.

More Examples of Indirect Objects

The indirect object is the recipient or beneficiary of the action (more often than not, it's a person). You can find the indirect object by finding the verb and direct object (see above) and then asking "for or to whom?". In each example below, the direct object is bold and the indirect object is shaded.

• Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. (Actress Marilyn Monroe)
(Q: Give the right shoes to whom? A: a girl)
• Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy. (Author F. Scott Fitzgerald)
(Q: Show a hero to whom? A: me)
(Q: Write a tragedy for whom? A: you)
• Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. (General George Patton)
(Q: Never tell "how to do things" to whom? A: people)
(Q: Tell "what to do" to whom? A: them)

Often, the words to or for will be present, making identification easier.

• When giving jewellery as a present, I'm giving protection to someone I care about. (Actress Sofia Boutella)

Indirect objects aren't always people. Every now and again, you might have to ask "for or to what?" as opposed to "whom?".

• Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. (Educational reformer Horace Mann)

Read more about indirect objects.

More Examples of Objects of Prepositions

The noun (or pronoun) governed by a preposition (i.e., words like "in," "on," "at," "by," "near") is known as the object of a preposition. In each example below, the preposition is bold and the object of the preposition is shaded.

• Lee lives near Brighton.
• He lives among us.

When talking about the object of a preposition, grammarians like to sharpen the focus, so the term "object of a preposition" refers to the head noun in any noun phrase. All the other words in the phrase are relegated to "modifiers." In each example below, the preposition is bold, the object of the preposition (i.e., the head noun) is also bold and shaded, and the modifiers are just shaded.

• Lee lives near a pub.
(The object of the preposition is "pub," and "a" is a modifier.)
• He lives among his old friends..
• When I was younger, I felt like a man trapped inside a woman's body. Then I was born. (Comedian Yianni Agisilaou)

It can get complicated.

• You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jellybeans. (President Ronald Reagan)
(In this example, "his" and "of eating jellybeans" are modifiers for "way." Of note though, "of" is a preposition with its own object of a preposition, "eating.")

Here's a quirk. When the object of the preposition is a noun clause, there's no head noun, so the whole clause is described as the object of the preposition.

• I saw a documentary on how ships are kept together . Riveting! (Comedian Stewart Francis)

Read more about objects of prepositions.

Four Observations about Objects

Here are four noteworthy observations related to objects:

(1) Only transitive verbs can have a direct or indirect object.

When a verb has a direct object, it is called a transitive verb. Some verbs do not take objects. They are known as intransitive verbs.

• Malcolm fell very badly.
(Step 1: Find the verb. Verb = fell)
(Step 2: Ask "what?". Q: Fell what? A: Nothing. You can't fall something.)
(Therefore, there's no direct object. The verb "to fall" is intransitive.)

Read more about intransitive verbs.

(2) Linking verbs don't have a direct object.

Don't confuse subject complements with direct objects. If you ask "what?" with a linking verb, you'll find a subject complement not the direct object.

• Peter is happy.
(Step 1: Find the verb. Verb = is)
(Step 2. Ask "What?". Q: Is what? A: happy.)
(On this occasion, "happy" is not the direct object. This is because "is" (i.e., the verb "to be") is a linking verb.)

Look at this example:

• You are a funny guy. I will kill you last.
(Here, "a funny guy" is not a direct object. It's a subject complement following the linking verb "are" (i.e., "to be"). The verb "will kill" (i.e., "to kill") is a transitive verb (so not a linking verb) and "you" is its direct object.)

Read more about subject complements. Read more about linking verbs.

(3) Objects are in the objective case.

Objects are always in the objective case. In English, this only affects pronouns (but not all pronouns).

• She saw him.
(The pronoun "him" (the direct object of "saw") is the objective-case version of "he.")
• Give them the money.
(The pronoun "them" (the indirect object of "give") is the objective-case version of "they.")
• Dance with her.
(The pronoun "her" (the object of the preposition "with") is the objective-case version of "she.")

Here is a list of personal pronouns with their objective-case versions:

Personal Pronoun	Objective Case Version	Comment
I	me
you	you	no change
he	him
she	her
it	it	no change
we	us
they	them
who	whom	This one causes errors. Read about who/whom.
whoever	whomever	This one causes errors. Read about whoever/whomever.

(4) Verbals can have direct objects too.

A verbal is a word derived from a verb. Verbals function as adjectives or nouns. Verbals can be infinitives (e.g., "to read," "to think"), gerunds (e.g., "reading," "thinking"), and participles (e.g., "reading," "thinking" - they look the same as gerunds).

Here is an example of an infinitive (in bold) with a direct object:

• As a kid, I was made to walk the plank. We couldn't afford a dog. (Comedian Gary Delaney)
("To walk" is an infinitive. Q: To walk what? A: the plank)

Read more about infinitives. Here is an example of a gerund (in bold) with a direct object:

• Driving a time machine is annoying because your kids are always asking "Are we then yet?". (Comedian Paul Taylor)
("Driving" is a gerund. Q: Driving what? A: a time machine)

Read more about gerunds. Here is an example of a participle (in bold) with a direct object:

• Watching the London Marathon, I notice one runner dressed as a chicken and another as an egg. I thought: "This could be interesting." (Comedian Paddy Lennox)
("Watching" is a participle. Q: Watching what? A: the London Marathon)

Read more about participles.

Why Objects Are Important

Yup, that's a lot of terminology for stuff you do naturally, but there are three good reasons to think more carefully about objects.

(Reason 1) Don't confuse "who" and "whom."

"Who" is never an object, but "whom" always is. So, use "who" for a subject but "whom" for an object. For example:

• The paper slates whom?
("Whom" as a direct object)
• Show whom the money?
("Whom" as an indirect object)
• I met two rugby players, one of whom was a little too good at dancing.
("Whom" as the object of a preposition)

It's the same deal with "whoever" and "whomever." Use "whoever" for the subject of a verb but "whomever" for an object.

This means "who" and "whoever" almost never follow a preposition. It can happen though.

• Islam was interpreted to give the ruler absolute power, which was a convenient interpretation for whoever was the ruler. (Egyptian Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei)
(Here, even though it follows the preposition "for," "whoever" is correct. It's the subject of the noun clause "whoever was the ruler.")

Writers never confuse pairings like "he/him" and "they/them." Well, they're no different from the "who/whom" pairing. Read more about who and whom.

(Reason 2) Use the correct verb after using an object of a preposition.

The object of a preposition cannot be the subject of a verb.

• Lee's box of magazines are under the stairs.
• Lee's box of magazines is under the stairs.

Don't be fooled by the proximity of the object of the preposition (here, "magazines") to the verb. You must ensure the subject (here, "box") and the verb agree in number.

However, the situation is different with some expressions (e.g., "half of," "a proportion of"). With these, the object of the preposition does influence the verb.

• Half of the cakes are missing.
(Here, "cakes" means that "half" is treated as plural.)
• Half of the cake is missing.
(Here, "cake" means that "half" is treated as singular.)

Read more about subject-verb agreement.

(Reason 3) Use "if" and "whether" correctly.

Writers are sometimes unsure whether to use "if" or "whether" after a preposition. Use "whether."

• It's a moral question about whether we have the right to exterminate species. (Naturalist Sir David Attenborough)
(Put another way: Use "whether," not "if," to head up a noun clause that's the object of a preposition.)

Read more about if and whether.

Key Points

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