Subjects and Objects

2023-04-15

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1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about subjects and objects.
    • 2
  • Hello VOA Learning English, I am Noormohammed from Saudi Arabia.
    • 3
  • I have a question about subjects and objects in sentences. Are they the same thing?
    • 4
  • Thanks,
    • 5
  • Noormohammed.
    • 6
  • Thanks for writing to us, Noormohammed.
    • 7
  • Subjects and objects are not the same thing in English language sentences.
    • 8
  • But they both involve nouns within the structure of a sentence.
    • 9
  • Let's take a closer look at each to see how they work.
    • 10
  • The subject of a sentence causes the action described by the verb.
    • 11
  • Nouns, pronouns and noun phrases are mainly used as subjects.
    • 12
  • Here is a simple example:
    • 13
  • The cat sleeps.
    • 14
  • "The cat" is a noun phrase and the subject of this sentence.
    • 15
  • The verb is "sleeps." Subjects almost always come before their verbs in sentences.
    • 16
  • Other kinds of phrases can also become subjects of sentences.
    • 17
  • For example, a verb phrase can become a subject.
    • 18
  • One kind of verbal phrase is called a gerund, the "ing" form of a verb.
    • 19
  • It acts as a noun.
    • 20
  • This means that it can be the subject of a sentence.
    • 21
  • Walking is a great form of exercise.
    • 22
  • In this sentence, "walking" is a gerund and is the subject.
    • 23
  • It is not a verb.
    • 24
  • Other grammatical forms can be subjects too, like noun clauses and prepositional phrases.
    • 25
  • Now let's move onto objects.
    • 26
  • An object is another part of the sentence.
    • 27
  • Objects come after verbs.
    • 28
  • We say that the object of a sentence receives the action of the verb or that the verb affects the object in some way.
    • 29
  • Objects are always nouns or noun phrases.
    • 30
  • This is something that is shared between the subject of the sentence and the object, but the two are not the same.
    • 31
  • Here is a simple example of an object:
    • 32
  • The cat eats food.
    • 33
  • In this sentence, "food" is the object.
    • 34
  • The "food" receives the action from the cat - it gets eaten.
    • 35
  • This makes "food" the direct object.
    • 36
  • It comes after the verb, and it is directly affected by the action of the verb.
    • 37
  • Here are some more examples of direct objects:
    • 38
  • I love drinking tea in the morning.
    • 39
  • Remember how gerunds act like nouns? Here the verb phrase "drinking tea" is the object.
    • 40
  • We ate Thai food last night.
    • 41
  • Here the noun phrase "Thai food" is the direct object.
    • 42
  • I baked Masha a cake.
    • 43
  • Here the direct object of the sentence is "a cake."
    • 44
  • But what about the other noun that comes right after the verb in the sentence?
    • 45
  • "Masha" is the indirect object.
    • 46
  • Indirect objects are affected by the direct object and not the verb.
    • 47
  • Indirect objects need a direct object.
    • 48
  • So, in this sentence, we did not bake Masha; we baked the cake for Masha.
    • 49
  • Here are a few sentences to practice. Find the subject and the object (direct and/or indirect).
    • 50
  • Write your answers below in the comments or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 51
  • Walking up too many hills hurts Oliver's back.
    • 52
  • We made our parents breakfast.
    • 53
  • Abdul bought his wife a new car.
    • 54
  • She writes long letters every month.
    • 55
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Noormohammed.
    • 56
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
    • 57
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 58
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 1
  • Hello! This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about subjects and objects.
    • 2
  • Question:
    • 3
  • Hello VOA Learning English, I am Noormohammed from Saudi Arabia. I have a question about subjects and objects in sentences. Are they the same thing?
    • 4
  • Thanks,
    • 5
  • Noormohammed.
    • 6
  • Answer
    • 7
  • Thanks for writing to us, Noormohammed.
    • 8
  • Subjects and objects are not the same thing in English language sentences. But they both involve nouns within the structure of a sentence. Let's take a closer look at each to see how they work.
    • 9
  • The subject of a sentence causes the action described by the verb. Nouns, pronouns and noun phrases are mainly used as subjects. Here is a simple example:
    • 10
  • The cat sleeps.
    • 11
  • "The cat" is a noun phrase and the subject of this sentence. The verb is "sleeps." Subjects almost always come before their verbs in sentences.
    • 12
  • Other kinds of phrases can also become subjects of sentences.
    • 13
  • For example, a verb phrase can become a subject. One kind of verbal phrase is called a gerund, the "ing" form of a verb. It acts as a noun. This means that it can be the subject of a sentence.
    • 14
  • Walking is a great form of exercise.
    • 15
  • In this sentence, "walking" is a gerund and is the subject. It is not a verb.
    • 16
  • Other grammatical forms can be subjects too, like noun clauses and prepositional phrases.
    • 17
  • Now let's move onto objects.
    • 18
  • An object is another part of the sentence. Objects come after verbs. We say that the object of a sentence receives the action of the verb or that the verb affects the object in some way.
    • 19
  • Objects are always nouns or noun phrases. This is something that is shared between the subject of the sentence and the object, but the two are not the same.
    • 20
  • Here is a simple example of an object:
    • 21
  • The cat eats food.
    • 22
  • In this sentence, "food" is the object. The "food" receives the action from the cat - it gets eaten. This makes "food" the direct object. It comes after the verb, and it is directly affected by the action of the verb.
    • 23
  • Here are some more examples of direct objects:
    • 24
  • I love drinking tea in the morning.
    • 25
  • Remember how gerunds act like nouns? Here the verb phrase "drinking tea" is the object.
    • 26
  • We ate Thai food last night.
    • 27
  • Here the noun phrase "Thai food" is the direct object.
    • 28
  • I baked Masha a cake.
    • 29
  • Here the direct object of the sentence is "a cake." But what about the other noun that comes right after the verb in the sentence?
    • 30
  • "Masha" is the indirect object. Indirect objects are affected by the direct object and not the verb. Indirect objects need a direct object.
    • 31
  • So, in this sentence, we did not bake Masha; we baked the cake for Masha.
    • 32
  • Here are a few sentences to practice. Find the subject and the object (direct and/or indirect).
    • 33
  • Write your answers below in the comments or send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com.
    • 34
  • Walking up too many hills hurts Oliver's back.
    • 35
  • We made our parents breakfast.
    • 36
  • Abdul bought his wife a new car.
    • 37
  • She writes long letters every month.
    • 38
  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you, Noormohammed.
    • 39
  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
    • 40
  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
    • 41
  • I'm Faith Pirlo.
    • 42
  • Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English.
    • 43
  • ____________________________________________________________________
    • 44
  • Words in This Story
    • 45
  • phrase - n. two or more words that do not form a complete sentence but that express an idea
    • 46
  • clause - n. (grammar) a part of a sentence that has its own subject and verb
    • 47
  • cake - n. a soft, sweet food made from a heated mixture of flour, sugar, eggs and butter.
    • 48
  • ____________________________________________________________________
    • 49
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    • 50
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