Year 6 English: The subject and the object of a sentence
Part of the Year 6 English modal verbs, the perfect form and the passive chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The subject and the object of a sentence
The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that does the action. The object is the person or thing that receives the action. In The cat chased the mouse, the cat is the subject, and the mouse is the object.
Subject and object
| Sentence | Subject (does) | Object (receives) |
|---|---|---|
| The cat chased the mouse. | The cat | the mouse |
| Ravi kicked the ball over the fence. | Ravi | the ball |
| The students read the poem aloud. | The students | the poem |
| My sister painted the door blue. | My sister | the door |
| The river flooded the field. | The river | the field |
| A bird built a nest in the tree. | A bird | a nest |
Key ideas
- The subject does the action.
- The object receives the action, and comes after the verb.
- Ask who or what does the action, and who or what receives it.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who did the action.
- Find the verb. Kicked is the verb.kicked
- Ask who kicked. Ravi kicked, so Ravi is the subject.Ravi
- Write the answer. Ravi
Check. Ravi does the action. ✓
Method. Find the verb, then ask what was kicked.
- Find the verb. Kicked is the verb.kicked
- Ask what was kicked. The ball was kicked, so the ball is the object.the ball
- Write the answer. the ball
Check. the ball receives the action. ✓
Method. Ask what was painted.
- Find the verb. Painted is the verb.painted
- Ask what was painted. The door was painted, so the door is the object.the door
- Write the answer. the door
Check. the door receives the action. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: blue, in painted the door blue, describes the door. It is not the object.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to find the subject and object in a sentence from a favourite book, by asking who does the action, and what receives it.
Exercise 6C Practice: subject and object
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.mouse.
- Ask who or what. The cat is the person or thing that does the action.The cat
- Write the answer. The cat
Check. The cat does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.fence.
- Ask who or what. Ravi is the person or thing that does the action.Ravi
- Write the answer. Ravi
Check. Ravi does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.aloud.
- Ask who or what. The students is the person or thing that does the action.The students
- Write the answer. The students
Check. The students does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.blue.
- Ask who or what. My sister is the person or thing that does the action.My sister
- Write the answer. My sister
Check. My sister does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.field.
- Ask who or what. The river is the person or thing that does the action.The river
- Write the answer. The river
Check. The river does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.tree.
- Ask who or what. A bird is the person or thing that does the action.A bird
- Write the answer. A bird
Check. A bird does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what receives the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.verb
- Ask who or what is affected. the mouse is the thing that receives the action.the mouse
- Write the answer. the mouse
Check. the mouse receives the action. ✓
Watch out. The object receives the action. It comes after the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what receives the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.verb
- Ask who or what is affected. the ball is the thing that receives the action.the ball
- Write the answer. the ball
Check. the ball receives the action. ✓
Watch out. The object receives the action. It comes after the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what receives the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.verb
- Ask who or what is affected. the poem is the thing that receives the action.the poem
- Write the answer. the poem
Check. the poem receives the action. ✓
Watch out. The object receives the action. It comes after the verb.
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what receives the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.verb
- Ask who or what is affected. the door is the thing that receives the action.the door
- Write the answer. the door
Check. the door receives the action. ✓
Watch out. The object receives the action. It comes after the verb.
Method. Find the doer, then the receiver.
- Find the subject. The farmer does the feeding.The farmer
- Find the object. The hens receive the feeding.the hens
- Write the answer. The farmer, the hens
Check. The farmer does the action and the hens receive it. ✓
Method. Name the doer first, then the verb and the object.
- Name the subject. Mum is the doer.Mum
- Add the object. The letter receives the action of writing.wrote the letter
- Write the answer. Mum wrote the letter on Sunday evening.
Check. The sentence has a subject and an object. ✓
Method. Ask who does the action, and who receives it.
- Find the subject. Ask who does the action.who does
- Find the object. Ask who or what receives the action.receives
- Write the answer. The subject is the one who does the action, and the object is the one who receives it
Check. The subject does, and the object receives. ✓
Method. Ask what was flooded.
- Find the verb. Flooded is the verb.flooded
- Ask what was flooded. The field was flooded, so field is the object.field
- Write the answer. field
Check. field receives the action. ✓
Method. Ask what was built.
- Ask what was built. The nest was built, so the nest is the object.a nest
- Check the phrase. In the tree says where, so it is not the object.no
- Write the answer. no
Check. in the tree tells where, and is not the object. ✓
Method. Find the verb, then ask who or what does the action.
- Find the verb. The verb shows the action in the sentence.aloud.
- Ask who or what. The students do the reading.The students
- Write the answer. The students
Check. The students does the action. ✓
Watch out. The subject is the person or thing that does the action, and it comes before the verb.
Method. Ask what the students read.
- Find the verb. Read is the verb.read
- Ask what was read. The poem was read, so the poem is the object.the poem
- Write the answer. the poem
Check. the poem receives the action. ✓
Method. Choose the subject, the verb, and the object.
- Choose the subject. The dog does the carrying.The dog
- Choose the object. The stick receives the carrying.the stick
- Write the answer. The dog carried the stick across the field.
Check. The sentence has a subject and an object. ✓