The part of a clause that the action is done to.
In precise terms
A grammatical relation borne by an argument of a transitive verb, typically marked by accusative case, a fixed position, or object agreement. Languages may distinguish direct from indirect objects.
An example
Nilikinunua kitabu.
I bought the book.
What is going on here
In Swahili the object can be marked on the verb itself — the '-ki-' here agrees with the noun class of 'kitabu'. The object is therefore signalled twice: once by the noun and once inside the verb.
Why this matters when you are learning a language
Whether a verb takes an object, and how that object is marked, is the single most important fact to learn about any new verb. Dictionaries record it, and getting it wrong makes a sentence ungrammatical rather than merely accented.
Across languages
Object marking varies: accusative case in German and Turkish, a preposition in Spanish for animate objects ('veo a María'), object prefixes in Swahili, and bare position in English and Mandarin.
Related terms
- SubjectBeginner — The part of a clause that the verb agrees with — usually who or what performs the action.
- Transitive and intransitive verbsIntermediate — A transitive verb takes an object; an intransitive one does not.
- Direct and indirect objectsIntermediate — The direct object is what the action affects; the indirect object is usually the recipient.
- Grammatical caseIntermediate — Endings on nouns showing their role in the sentence — who did it, who it was done to, whose it is.
Where to go next
- Language guides — See grammatical and lexical categories used in context.
- Terminology quiz — Test the terms on this page.