DIRECT, INDIRECT AND PREPOSITIONAL OBJECTS
THE DIRECT OBJECT (Od)
Syntactic and semantic features
After the subject and the predicator, the direct object is the most central of all clause constituents. It is characterized by the following features:
1 It occurs only in transitive clauses with transitive verbs such as hit, buy, send. It is placed immediately after the predicator, as in (a), but follows an indirect object, if there is one as in (b):
(a) I have sent the invitations (Od).
(b) I have sent everyone (Oi) an invitation (Od).
2 It is typically realized by a NG, as in (a) but may also be realized by clauses, as in (b):
(a) I saw the burglar (NG)
(b) I saw what he did (nominal cl.)
3 It can generally be ‘promoted’ to become subject in a corresponding passive clause:
The invitations (S) have been sent. (corresponding to the Od in I have sent the invitations)
4 Direct objects can be tested for by questions beginning with Who(m)? What? Which?: How much/ many? and by wh-clefts.
What did you send?
What I sent were the invitations (wh-cleft)
5 Semantically, a prototypical direct object occurs in a high-transitivity situation – that is, in a process of ‘doing’ in which the referent’s state or location is affected in some way, as in the first example below.
6 However the Od is associated with a wide variety of semantic roles in which ‘affectedness’ is not a feature, and with many types of verbs, some of which are illustrated in the following examples:
He headed the ball into the net. (Affected)
The burglars used an acetylene lamp to break open the safe. (Instrument)
I felt a sudden pain in my arm. (Phenomenon: i.e. that which is experienced)
He gave the door a push. (Range: i.e. the nominalized extension of the verb)
He swam the Channel. (Affected locative)
7 The highly non-prototypical Range Ods include have a rest/smoke/drink; take a sip/nap, give a kick/nudge, do a dance, and many others. The NG in these cases is a deverbal noun (i.e. derived from a verb) which follows a verb that is ‘light’ in semantic content such as have. Such combinations are very common.
The Channel in swim the Channel is a direct object, whereas in swim across the Channel it is the NG complement of a prepositional phrase functioning as Adjunct. The difference is that the Od version is more integrated within the clause, and perhaps for this reason appears to present the event as more of an achievement. The same difference is present in climb Everest and ride a horse vs climb up Everest and ride on a horse, respectively. The achievement is clearly completed in the former case, but leaves open the possibility of incompletion in the latter.
