B. Foundations of Language · Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

Nouns as Direct Objects

B3.2About 40 minutes

Learning goals

I can find the direct object in a sentence by asking verb + what? or verb + whom?
I can tell the difference between a subject and a direct object.
I can use object pronouns like me, him, her, us and them as direct objects.
I can tell a direct object apart from a noun in a prepositional phrase.

Words to know

subject
The person or thing that does the action in a sentence.

direct object
The noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb. It answers verb + what? or verb + whom?

action verb
A verb that shows an action, like kick, build, carry.

object pronoun
A pronoun used as an object: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

prepositional phrase
A group of words that starts with a preposition, like to the park or under the bed.

Remember from Grade 4

You know the eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. You know that every sentence has a subject (who or what the sentence is about) and a predicate (what the subject does or is).

In Grade 5 you'll learn one more job a noun can do. A noun can be the subject, but it can also be the direct object: the thing that receives the action.

Maya (subject) kicked (verb) the ball (direct object). Ask: kicked what? The ball.

Finding the direct object

Find the action verb.
Ask: verb + what? or verb + whom?
The answer is the direct object.

The beaver built a dam. Built what? a dam.
Grandpa hugged my sister. Hugged whom? my sister.
We planted tulips and daffodils. Planted what? tulips and daffodils (a compound direct object: two nouns).

Not every sentence has a direct object. The baby slept. Slept what? That doesn't make sense, so there's no direct object.

Watch out for prepositions

A noun inside a prepositional phrase is not a direct object. We walked to the park. Walked what? Nothing! park belongs to the phrase to the park. Cover up prepositional phrases first, then ask verb + what?

Why it matters: pronouns

When a pronoun is the direct object, use an object pronoun: me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

The coach chose me. (not I)
Mom drove Sam and me to practice. (not Sam and I)

Trick: take away the other person. Mom drove ___ to practice. You'd say Mom drove me, so it's Sam and me.

Subject pronouns (do the action)	Object pronouns (receive the action)
I	me
he	him
she	her
we	us
they	them
you, it	you, it (the same)

Subject and object pronouns

Worked example

Let's find the direct object

Find the direct object: After the storm, my neighbour shovelled our long driveway.

Cover the prepositional phrase After the storm.
Find the action verb: shovelled.
Ask: shovelled what? → our long driveway.
The main noun is driveway. (our and long describe it.)

The direct object is driveway (or the whole phrase our long driveway).

Cover the prepositional phrase first. Then find the verb and ask verb + what? The answer, driveway, is the direct object.

Worked example

Let's choose the pronoun

Choose: Our teacher thanked Ali and (I / me).

thanked is the verb. Thanked whom? Ali and ___. So the pronoun is part of the direct object.
Take away Ali and: Our teacher thanked me. sounds right; Our teacher thanked I doesn't.
Use the object pronoun.

Our teacher thanked Ali and me.

Just for fun

The cat knocked the cup off the table.

Verb: knocked. Knocked what? The cup. So the cup is the direct object... and now it's also directly on the floor.

Hands-on activity

Toy sentence lab

You need: three small toys or objects from home (a stuffed animal, a ball, a toy car), and paper and a pencil.

Act out a sentence with the toys, like the bear pushes the car. Say it: The bear pushed the car.
Write the sentence. Draw a box around the subject and a circle around the direct object. Draw an arrow from the verb to the direct object, and write pushed what? above it.
Switch them: The car pushed the bear. Notice how changing the order changes who does the action and who receives it!
Act out a sentence with no direct object, like The bear slept. Explain why there's no direct object.
Write 5 sentences of your own and label them.

Your turn

Find the direct object: Liam caught the fish.

Find the direct object: The students painted a mural.

Find the direct object: Aunt Rosa called my mother.

Does this sentence have a direct object? The puppy ran across the yard.

Find the compound direct object: We packed sandwiches and apples.

Choose: The goalie blocked (they / them).

Subject or direct object? the wolf in The wolf howled at the moon.

More practice: warm-up

What question helps you find the direct object?

Find the direct object: Dad baked bread.

Find the direct object: I read a book.

Which is an object pronoun: she or her?

Which is an object pronoun: we or us?

More practice: on your own

Find the direct object: Every spring, the farmer plants corn in the north field.

Choose and explain: The bus driver greeted Nora and (I / me).

Find the subject and the direct object: My cousin from Winnipeg sent a postcard.

Write a sentence where snow is the subject, and another where snow is the direct object.

Why is there no direct object in Mr. Patel is our principal?

Challenge

Find every direct object: Maria fed the horses, and Jon brushed them after the ride.

Fix the two pronoun mistakes: Me and my brother helped Grandma. She thanked my brother and I.

Explain how the meaning changes: The dog chased the cat. / The cat chased the dog.

Check your understanding

Quiz

What is the direct object in The girl kicked the soccer ball?

Which sentence has no direct object?

Which sentence is correct?

In We hiked up the mountain, is mountain a direct object?

Which is an object pronoun?

Find the direct object: Grandma knitted a red scarf for me.

For parents and teachers

Big idea (B3.2): The Grade 5 Language curriculum asks students to understand the functions of parts of speech in sentences, including direct objects for nouns. Knowing that a noun can be a subject or an object helps with reading complex sentences and with choosing pronouns (me vs. I).

How to help at home:

Play verb + what? with sentences from a book or the news.
Gently model correct pronouns: if your child says Mom drove Sam and I, try the take-away trick together.
Act out sentences with toys so the idea of receiving the action is concrete.

Common difficulties:

Choosing a noun in a prepositional phrase (We went to the store). Cover prepositional phrases first.
Calling the subject the object. Ask: "Who does it? Who or what gets it?"
I/me after and. Many adults say between you and I; the take-away trick fixes it.
Linking verbs (is, was, seems) don't take direct objects.