Actors can play
different roles on stage. One particular actor could play Hamlet or
Claudius or Ophelia.
The same way, a noun (e.g.
friend, table, pride, idea) and its modifiers (e.g. the, a, this, my, our
old, his interesting) or a personal pronoun (e.g. he, she, they, it)
can play the part of a subject or the part of a direct object in a
sentence.
Study these two sentences: |
 |
Last night the old
washing machine broke down.
Tomorrow evening our plumber is
going to repair
the old washing machine.
In the first sentence, "the old washing machine" is the
subject of the sentence, i.e. it performs the action expressed by
the verb, in this case, it broke down.
In the second
sentence, "the plumber" is the subject (the plumber will do the
repairing), and "the old washing machine" has taken on the role of
the direct object, because it is directly affected by the action of
the subject. The plumber is going to repair: what? -> the old
washing machine.
Here are a 2 more examples:
|
Despite the
bad weather, the children still went to the beach.
|
Tomorrow she is
going to take the children to the zoo. |
|
step 1: Locate the verb(s): went
step 2: Who went? -> the children
-> "the children" is the subject of the sentence |
step 1: Locate the verb(s): is going to take
step 2: Who is going to take? -> she, so "she" is the
subject
step 3: She is going to take: what/whom? -> the
children
-> "the children" is the direct object of the sentence
|
|
As of last year, its market share reached approximately 0.46 percent. |
But, more significantly, the company failed
to significantly grow its market share.
|
|
step 1: Locate the verb(s): reached
step 2: Who/what reached 0.46 percent? -> its market share
-> "its market share" is the subject of the sentence |
step 1: Locate the verb(s): failed to grow
step 2: Who/what failed to grow? -> the company, so
"the company" is the subject
step 3: The company failed to grow: what? -> its
market share
-> "its market share" is the direct object of the
sentence |
Now you will probably ask why it is important to know
whether words play the part of a subject or a direct object in a
sentence.
In English you only notice it when you use person pronouns, e.g.
|
He hasn't called in years. ["he" is
the subject] |
This evening I am going to call him.
[not "he"] |
|
She is my best friend. ["she" is the
subject] |
I am going to visit her [not "she"]
soon. |
In German, however, the difference has to be taken into
consideration when using definite articles (the), the indefinite
article (a[n]), possessive articles (e.g. my, your, his) and
adjectives (e.g. small, long, high) in front of a noun.
But
before we deal with this in the next activity, here is one more
sentence in English for you to figure out. Locate the subject
and the direct object in this sentence and write them into the gaps.
Then press [Check] to see if you got it right. Use the [Hint] button
to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble.
Of course, the Germans take
humour very seriously.
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