A direct object is a grammatical term used in sentences with transitive verbs. Hold on! Too much information! We are already confused before it starts, right? No need, it is really very simple. Stay with me:
There are 2 (in words: TWO) main reasons why getting familiar with the direct object is important to your Hebrew studies:
You might have noticed that Hebrew uses this little marker "et" sometimes. For example, when you say "He gives her the book" -> " הוּא נוֹתֵן לָהּ אֶת הַסֵּפֶר " , And the explanation is, that it is used when there is a direct object. So, it would be handy to know what a direct object is, especially when in your native language there is no need for such a marker, and you most certainly will drop it intuitively.
Changing from active to passive voice, and vice versa, depends completely on the direct object. As you might know, there are also active verbs in nifal, (the passive counterpart of paal), guess what! They cannot be used with a direct object. But this topic is not for now.
How to identify a direct object?
Whoever or whatever receives the action or is affected by it, that entity is the direct object. To identify the direct object in a sentence, you can ask "what" or "whom" after the verb. The answer to this question will be the direct object. Examples:
He gives her the book. Direct object: the book, not the female (this is the indirect object). Why? It is about the action, not the destination. The verb "to give" is applied to the book.
He drives them to school. Direct object: them. Why? The verb "to drive" is applied to them.
The children eat burgers. Direct object: burgers. Why? The verb "to eat" is applied to burgers.
So you see, it is always about what the verb is doing to somebody or something. They receive the action. When nobody or nothing can receive an action, no direct object in that sentence.
What does that say about the verbs we use?
Verbs that can be applied to direct objects are called transitive verbs. And I will tell you more about it in my next post.
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