Subjects and Objects

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In our last blog post we looked at subjective and objective pronouns, but what do we mean when we refer to the ‘subject’ or ‘object’ of a sentence? Read on to find out!

What does the term ‘subject’ mean?
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that the sentence is about. All verbs have a subject, and the subject is usually the person or thing doing whatever action the verb indicates.

Here are some examples of subjects (bold) and verbs (underlined) in sentences:

  • Katie threw the ball.
  • My mum and dad almost missed the party.
  • Thomas and I love action films.

Sometimes, the subject of a sentence is implied. For example:

  • ‘Throw me the ball!’ vs. ‘Katie, throw me the ball!’

What does the term ‘object’ mean?
Some verbs also have objects – the person or thing that the action of the verb is being done to.

Here are some examples of objects (bold) and verbs (underlined) in sentences:

  • Katie threw the ball.
  • My mum and dadalmost missed the party.
  • Thomas and I love action films.

Can a sentence have more than one ‘object’?
Some sentences have direct objects and indirect objects. In the above example sentences, all the objects are directly impacted by the verbs and so are called direct objects. An object that benefits from the action of the verb, but isn’t what the verb is directly referring to, is called an indirect object.

Here are some examples of direct objects (bold), indirect objects (italics) and verbs (underlined) in sentences:

  • Katie threw the ball to Thomas.
  • Thomas loves watching action films with me.

If you found this article useful, why not check out some of our other posts?

Have a great week!


10 May 2017
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"I ran the trial with a small group of students over three weeks before the summer holidays," she says. "I quickly saw the benefits, and signed up."

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