Cover Page of
The Mayfield Handbook of Technical & Scientific Writing
Table of ContentsWriting TimelineIndexHelpCredits

Section 12.3.1

Direct Objects

The direct object is the noun, pronoun, or other noun substitute in a sentence that receives the action of the verb; it is the noun or noun phrase that is acted upon.


Tomsk-7, whose existence was classified until about 1990, is thought to have poured and pumped about a billion curies of high-level waste, or 20 Chernobyls' worth, into lakes in the region and into underground formations.

--"Lethal Legacy," Scientific American


All sentences with transitive verbs must include a direct object.

In most sentences, the direct object must immediately follow the verb.


Wash the test tubes. [Direct object, the test tubes, immediately follows the verb.]

However, the direct object may sometimes be separated from the verb by an indirect object.


Give me the test tubes. [Indirect object, me, comes between verb and direct object.]

Reference Direct Objects
## Direct Objects ##
Reference Link Text

[ Home | Table of Contents | Writing Timeline | Index | Help | Credits]