Definition of direct object

The term "direct object" in grammar refers to a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb in a sentence. This grammatical concept originated in the 19th century as part of the modern syntactic theory that emerged following the work of linguists such as Ľudovít Štúr and Johannes Schmidt. In traditional grammar, the direct object was often referred to as the "principal partners" of the verb or the "complement" of the transitive verb. It was also called the "accusative case" in some languages, as it was marked by a particular grammatical case in those languages, such as Latin or Russian. However, in modern grammar, the concept of the direct object is not limited to languages with a case system and is now understood as a functional role in any language with grammatical subject and verb. In general, the direct object follows the subject in a sentence and receives the action of the verb, while the indirect object (if present) comes before the direct object and indicates to whom or for whom the action is being performed. By understanding and distinguishing between direct objects, indirect objects, and subjects, grammatical analyses can more accurately represent the meanings and structures of sentences in various languages.