 Although some sentences are complete with just a subject and a verb, others require an object.  A direct object (DO) is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of an action verb. A direct object answers the question whom or what following the verb. › Rico brought balloons. [Rico brought—what?— balloons. Balloons is the direct object.] › Mrs. Goldman met Rick and me at the door. [Mrs. Goldman met—whom?—Rock and me. Rick and me are the direct objects.]

 Not all verbs take objects. Linking verbs do not take objects. Some, but not all, action verbs do take objects. Those actions verbs that take objects are called transitive verbs.  An indirect object (IO) is a noun or pronoun that follows the action verb and answers the question to whom, for whom, to what, or for what, following the action verb.  Direct objects can stand alone, but indirect objects exist only when there is a direct object. An indirect object always comes before the direct object in a sentence.

› I gave Josh my present. [To whom did I give the present? I gave it to Josh. Josh is the indirect object; present is the direct object.] › Mr. Goldman served me cake. [To whom did Mr. Goldman serve cake? He served it to me. Me is the indirect object; cake is the direct object.]  Like subjects, direct and indirect objects are never part of a prepositional phrase. Even though these next two sentences mean the same thing, only the first one has an indirect object. › Please send Aunt Jane and Uncle Gary a thank-you note. › Please send a thank-you note to Aunt Jane and Uncle Gary. [The phrase to Aunt Jane and Uncle Gary is a prepositional phrase.]

 STEP BY STEP: Finding Direct and Indirect Objects › To find a direct object:  Find the action verb.  Ask the question whom or what after the action verb. › To find an indirect object:  Find the action verb.  Find the direct object.  Ask the question to whom, for whom, to what, or for what after the action verb.

 Every sentence has two parts: a subject and a predicate.  The subject i s the part of the sentence that names the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. The predicate is the part of the sentence that tells what the subject does, what it is, or what happens to it. Both a subject and a predicate may be either a single word or a group of words.  SUBJECTPREDICATE  Archimedesexclaimed, “Eureka!”

 The simple subject is the key word or words in the subject. It may be more than one word when it is a compound noun (high school) or a proper noun (North America). The complete subject is made up of the simple subject and all of its modifiers.  The simple predicate is always the verb or verb phrase that tells something about the subject. The complete predicate contains the verb and all of its modifiers, objects, and complements. Remember that not (n’t in a contraction) is never part of a verb phrase.

 A sentence is a grammatically complete group of words that expresses a though. A sentence must express either an action or state of being and contain something that performs the action.  Every sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with an end mark of punctuation—a period, question mark, or exclamation point.  A sentence fragment is a group of words that is not grammatically complete. Avoid sentence fragments in formal writing.

 Because sentence fragments start with a capital letter and end with an end mark of punctuation, they look just like sentences. But they are not. FRAGMENT Ended with a question. [What ended with a question?] FRAGMENT The letter to the editor. [What did the letter say or do?] SENTENCE The letter to the editor ended with a question. FRAGMENT Although the letter to the editor ended with a question.[The word although sets up a new expectation for information; it turns the sentence into an incomplete thought.] SENTENCE Although the letter to the editor ended with a question, its message was clear.

 Every sentence has one of four purposes: › Declarative sentences make a statement. They end with a period.  Ancient villages lay hidden for centuries. › Imperative sentences make a command or a request. They end with either a period or (if the command shows strong feeling) an exclamation point.  Read about the exciting discovery of the Mayan city of Copan.  Don’t procrastinate! › Interrogative sentences ask a question. They end with a question mark.  When was the first Mayan city discovered? › Exclamatory sentences express strong feeling. They end with an exclamation point.  What a great discovery that was!