Direct objects
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?
Marcus reads.
Julia sees the tablet.
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:
- Puella villam videt. = The girl sees the house.
- Servus aquam portat. = The slave carries water.
- Marcus Corneliam amat. = Marcus loves Cornelia.
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 Marcus amat the object still comes first, but the -am ending marks Corneliam as the one being loved, and Marcus (no accusative ending) as the lover. Trust the ending, not the order.
Marcus reads.
Example for Direct objects.
Julia sees the tablet.
A short A1 sentence with visible endings.
Im Kurs üben
Wende diese Grammatik in den Übungen des Kurses A1 an