Subject and object
Who does the verb and who it is done to, with two questions that find them every time.
The answer
The subject is who or what does the verb, and the object is who or what the verb is done to: in Sam kicked the ball, Sam is the subject and the ball is the object.
Examples
Sam kicked the ball.
Subject first, then the verb, then the object.
My grandma knitted a scarf.
Did you see the rainbow?
In a question, the subject comes after the helper verb did.
The baby slept.
Not every verb has an object: this sentence has only a subject.
How to spot it
- Find the verb, then ask who or what did it. That is the subject.
- Then ask who or what it was done to. That is the object.
- In a statement, the subject usually comes just before the verb and the object just after it.
The common mistake
Treating any word after the verb as the object.
In ‘She ran quickly’, quickly is an adverb, and in ‘They were happy’, happy is an adjective. Neither is an object, because an object is a noun, pronoun or noun phrase.
When it is taught
- First met
- Year 6
- On the pupil word list
- Year 6, as “subject”
Year 6 names subject and object, in the same terminology row as active and passive.
Try a question
Circle the object.
Aunt Rosa baked a cherry pie for the party.
Show the answer
Answer: a cherry pie
It is what was baked. Aunt Rosa is the subject, and for the party is a preposition phrase.
Related terms
- Practise the 11+ skill: Match subject and verb
More grammar terms
Questions parents ask
Why does subject and object matter for I and me?
I, he, she, we and they are subject pronouns; me, him, her, us and them are object pronouns. So it is ‘She and I left’ but ‘Dad drove her and me’.
What happens to the object in the passive?
It becomes the subject. Active: The dog chased the cat. Passive: The cat was chased by the dog.
Does the subject change the verb?
Yes. The verb agrees with its subject: the dog barks, but the dogs bark.
Grammar turns up in 11+ English too
Many 11+ English papers include grammar and punctuation questions alongside comprehension. The free diagnostic checks maths, English and both kinds of reasoning, and shows what to practise next. No card is required.