A direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb: in "the girl sees the house", "the house" is what gets seen.
Can recognize Direct objects in a short Latin prompt
Schau dir diese Beispiele an. Kannst du das grammatische Muster erkennen?
She is preparing dinner.
We obey our father.
Achte auf die hervorgehobenen Teile. Was haben sie gemeinsam?
A direct object is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb: in "the girl sees the house", "the house" is what gets seen. In Latin the direct object is marked by a special set of endings called the accusative case. Because Latin signals grammar through endings rather than position, spotting the accusative tells you who is doing what to whom.
The most common accusative endings you will meet at A1 are:
| Type | Nominative (subject) | Accusative (object) |
|---|---|---|
| 1st declension (fem.) | puella (girl) | puellam |
| 2nd declension (masc.) | servus (slave) | servum |
| 2nd declension (neut.) | templum (temple) | templum |
| plural | puellae | puellas |
The singular tell-tale is often -m: puellam, servum, Romam.
Examples:
For English speakers: English shows the object by position alone (subject before the verb, object after). So you will be tempted to read the first noun as the subject and the last as the object. Do not. In Corneliam Mārcus amat the object still comes first, but the -am ending marks Corneliam as the one being loved, and Mārcus (no accusative ending) as the lover. Trust the ending, not the order.
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an
ÜbungsaufgabenShe is preparing dinner.
Cenam is a plain accusative object, exactly as English would expect.
We obey our father.
But parere takes the dative, patri. Which verbs take which case has to be learned verb by verb.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an