Subjects and Objects

Breanna Call
Feb 12
3 min read

Identify subjects, direct and indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

Photo of a woman looking at a cat on a dresser. Photo by Hải Nguyễn on Pexels.

If, like me, you find grammar to be fascinating, you’re in the right spot.

This blog post will focus on subjects, objects—both direct and indirect—and objects of prepositions. To understand this blog post, you’ll need to know what a verb, noun, pronoun, and preposition are. If you are unfamiliar with these terms, check out our tip “The Nine Parts of Speech.” If or once you are familiar with the above-mentioned terms, read on!

Subjects and objects are the foundational components of a sentence. Many grammar and punctuation rules are framed around knowing the difference between these components. Basically, the more you know about subjects and objects, the better your writing and more accurate your punctuation will be.

1. Subject

The subject is the noun or pronoun performing the action. In English sentence order, the subject normally comes before the verb. The subject can also answer the question Who or what did the action?

Tally reads quickly.

Tally is the subject because she is performing the action of reading. Note that Tally comes before the verb, reads.

Who did the reading? Tally.

The clock strikes three times.

Clock is the subject because it is performing the action of striking. Note that clock comes before the verb, strikes.

What did the striking? The clock.

2. Direct Object

The direct object is the noun or pronoun being acted upon or receiving the action. In sentence order, the direct object comes after the verb in English. The direct object can also answer the question The action happened to whom or what?

The cat chased the mouse.

The mouse is the direct object because it is receiving the action of chased. Note that the mouse comes after the verb, chased.

The chasing happened to whom? The mouse.

Antoine and Giselle sang a ballad.

A ballad is the direct object because it is receiving the action of sang. Note that a ballad comes after the verb, sang.

Being sung happened to what? A ballad.

3. Indirect Object

The indirect object is the noun that is receiving the direct object. In sentence order, the indirect object comes after the verb and before the direct object. After identifying the direct object, you can ask Who or what received the object?

Charles gave Elise the keys.

Elise is the indirect object because she received the direct object, the keys. Note that Elise comes after the verb, gave, and before the direct object, the keys.

Who received the keys? Elise.

Maria and Hector told Ms. Foster the good news.

Ms. Foster is the indirect object because she received the direct object, the good news. Note that Ms. Foster comes after the verb, told, and before the direct object, the good news.

Who received the good news? Ms. Foster.

4. Object of Preposition

An object of a preposition is a noun or pronoun that completes a prepositional phrase.

Here’s a quick recap on prepositions: Prepositions 1) describe a location/time (before, into, until) and 2) introduce an object (at, with, by). Many other prepositions can be identified by asking the question Where can a frog go on a log?

For identifying objects of a preposition, there aren’t any quick questions to give us a clue. But a big help will be knowing where they fall in sentence order: The object of the preposition comes after a preposition. So, the best way to identify the object of the preposition is to first find the preposition and then identify the noun that comes after it.

Joanie and Kellan swam at the pool.

The pool is the object of the preposition because it completes the prepositional phrase, at the pool. Note that the pool comes after the preposition, at.

My friend and I climbed a tree and dug a hole before dinner.

Dinner is the object of the preposition because it completes the prepositional phrase, before dinner. Note that dinner comes after the preposition, before.

That’s the breakdown for subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions. This knowledge will be great to add to your grammar skills and will help you with writing, editing, and more.

The Published Example

Book cover for A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin with a long pink hall leading to a door.

At one point, I caught the eye of a stylish woman on the train. I gave her a tentative smile. She stared at me, opened her mouth as if on the verge of saying something, then shut it again. As the train slowed down in the station, I made my way to her side through the hordes of commuters.