The subject is the person or thing doing the verb. The object is the person or thing the verb is done to. In Sarah kicked the ball, Sarah is the subject and the ball is the object.
What Is a Subject in a Sentence?
The subject is who or what the sentence is about. Ask “Who or what is doing this verb?”
Types of Subjects: Nouns, Pronouns, and Noun Phrases
| Subject Type | Example | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Proper noun | Marcus arrived late. | Marcus |
| Pronoun | She won the race. | She |
| Noun phrase | An orange cat slept on the porch. | An orange cat |
| Gerund | Running clears my head. | Running |
Complex and Compound Subjects
Subjects can stretch long. The woman who fixed my car charges fairly. The full subject is the woman who fixed my car — everything describing her stays inside it.
Two subjects joined by and make a compound subject: Jake and Priya own the bakery.
Subjects with Linking Verbs
Not every subject acts. With linking verbs like be, seem, and become, the subject is simply being described.
What Is an Object in a Sentence?
The object receives the action. It sits after the verb and completes the thought.
Only transitive verbs take objects. Intransitive verbs — sleep, arrive, laugh — never do.
Direct Objects: Finding the Receiver of the Action
A direct object answers “Verb what?” or “Verb whom?”
- Nora baked cookies. → Baked what? cookies
- I called my brother. → Called whom? my brother
Indirect Objects: Who Receives the Direct Object
An indirect object is the person who gets the direct object. Find the direct object first, then ask “To whom?” or “For whom?”
Objects of a Preposition
Any noun sitting after a preposition is the object of a preposition.
Subject vs Object
| Feature | Subject | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Does the verb | Receives the verb |
| Position | Before the verb | After the verb |
| Question | Who or what? | Verb what or whom? |
| Verb agreement | Controls it | No effect |
| Required? | Yes | Only with transitive verbs |
Word Order Is How English Marks Subject and Object
English uses word order to assign these roles. Cats chase mice and Mice chase cats use identical words with opposite meanings.
Many languages mark roles with endings instead. English mostly dropped those endings, so position now does the work.
Why the Subject Isn’t Always the Doer
This trips people up. In the passive voice, the subject does nothing at all.
The window was broken. The window is the grammatical subject, but it did not break anything. Subject and object are grammatical roles, not meaning-based ones.
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Subject Pronouns vs Object Pronouns
| Subject Pronoun | Object Pronoun |
|---|---|
| I | me |
| we | us |
| he | him |
| she | her |
| they | them |
| who | whom |
You and I or You and Me?
Use the removal test.
- “Please call Jeremy or I” → “Please call I” ✗
- “Please call Jeremy or me” → “Please call me” ✓
The pairing never changes the rule. If it is an object alone, it stays an object in a pair.
Common Subject and Object Mistakes
Even fluent speakers slip on these three.
Between You and I
This is a hypercorrection — overfixing something that was never broken. Between is a preposition, so it takes an object.
Correct: between you and me.
Mixing Pronoun Types in a Pair
Phrases like her and she or I and him combine a subject form with an object form. That is always wrong.
Pick one role: she and I went, or the coach picked her and me.
Mistaking the Object of a Preposition for the Subject
The subject never hides inside a prepositional phrase.
One of the boxes is missing. The subject is one, not boxes. Cover the phrase and the verb choice becomes obvious.
More posts:Thats or That’s – Which Is Correct? 2026
Practice: Subject vs Object Quiz
Find the subject or object in each sentence.
- The children in the front row answered first. (subject?)
- Marcus mailed his landlord a check. (indirect object?)
- The package was delivered yesterday. (subject?)
- We booked tickets for the show. (direct object?)
- Give the folder to her. (object of preposition?)
- My sister and her roommate adopted a puppy. (subject?)
Quiz Answers and Explanations
- The children in the front row — the prepositional phrase is part of the full subject.
- his landlord — the check is the direct object; the landlord receives it.
- The package — passive voice, so the subject receives the action.
- tickets — booked what? Tickets.
- her — it follows the preposition to.
- My sister and her roommate — a compound subject.
Frequently Asked Questions About Subject vs Object
What is the difference between a subject and an object?
The subject performs the verb and sits before it. The object receives the verb and sits after it.
Can a sentence have an object but no subject?
Only in commands, where the subject you is understood: Close the door.
Can a word be both the subject and the object?
Yes, in different sentences, and within one sentence using a reflexive pronoun: He cut himself.
How do you identify the subject and object in a sentence?
Find the verb first. Ask “who or what does it” for the subject, then “verb what” for the object.
Does every sentence need an object?
No. Sentences with intransitive verbs are complete without one: The baby slept.
Is “me” a subject or an object?
Me is always an object. Use I whenever the pronoun is doing the verb.
Do subject and object rules differ in British English?
The core rules are identical. British writing simply uses whom a little more often in everyday contexts.
Conclusion
Subjects act, objects receive, and word order keeps them straight. Learn the “verb what?” test and the removal test, and the pronoun mistakes stop happening. Read your sentence aloud with one word removed — your ear will catch what the rules explain.
Olivia Smith is the author and admin of GrammarAct, an informational grammar website. She writes clear guides, simple explanations, and helpful lessons to make grammar easy for everyone.
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