The object

What is the object?

The object is a syntactical position in which a word, or a phrase, or a clause denotes:

(a) either a thing to which the an action passes on (the object is expressed by the noun in this case: Ted broke his car);

(b) or a thing which is the result of the action (the object is again expressed by the noun in this case: Ted dug a deep trench);

(c) or it denotes an action as an object of another action (the object is expressed by the gerund or the infinitive: I hate swimming; I like to read);

(d) or quite a number of other different relations which are so versatile that it is practically impossible to give a short list of them.

On what parts of speech can the object be dependent!

(1) on verbs: Ted broke his car ', Ted dug a deep trench; I hate swimming: I like to read.

(2) on nouns: the discussion of the results; his dependence on the parents; the arrival of the guests;

(3) on pronouns: any of you; nothing of the kind; some of the students;

(4) on adjectives: full of beans; suspicious of me; guilty of the crime; innocent of the crime:

(5) on statives: dependent on his parents; interested in the results; fond of singing;

(6) on numerals: seven of us;

(7) on gerunds: writing letters

(8) on infinitives: to know much;

(9) on participle I: was reading a book;

(10) on participle II: was filled with water.