The Object of the Verbal Verbals are forms of verbs used as other parts of speech such as nouns, adjectives

or adverbs. In some cases a noun will follow the verbal and "receive" it. That noun is called the object of the verbal. As with other objects, it can be identified by asking what? or who? about the verbal. [In the following examples, the object of the verbal is bold and the verbal isunderlined.] o Running the mile is a requirement for the course. o RUNNING is a verb used as a noun (a gerund) and MILE is the object of that verbal. o Most doctors warn their patients to quit smoking. o You can find the object of the verbal by asking the question WHAT? about the verbal. e.g. TO QUIT what? SMOKING. Just to make it a bit more complicated, SMOKING is also a verbal. A gerund. o Planning a surprise attack, the children hid behind their baby-sitter's chair. o The participle PLANNING modifies the subject (CHILDREN); but the object of PLANNING in other words, the thing "receiving" PLANNING is the object of the verbal, ATTACK. o The contract offered the workers remains unsigned. o CONTRACT is the subject of the sentence and REMAINS is the verb. OFFERED is a participle modifying the subject. WORKERS is the object of that verbal. Sometimes the object of a verbal may be an entire clause rather than a single word. [In the following examples, the object of the verbal is bold and the verbal is underlined.] Hoping the child was still alive, the rescue crews dug through the rubble. The participle HOPING modifies the subject (crews). The object of HOPING (i.e. the thing "receiving" HOPE) is the entire idea: THE CHILD WAS STILL ALIVE. o Tamala never stopped to think she might be in danger. o TO THINK is an infinitive. Question: TO THINK WHAT? Answer: She might be in danger.
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Not every verbal has an object. Sometimes, verbals are followed by prepositional phrases. [In the following examples, the verbal is underlined and the prepositional phrase is bold.] o Prepared for the worst, the neighbors waited outside of the burning house. o The participle PREPARED modifies the subject (neighbors). Rather than answering the question what, the information following the verbal describes PREPARED. In other words, what kind of prepared was it. o Alan, described by most as a "fanatic," had his entire body tattooed green and gold. o DESCRIBED modifies ALAN. The prepositional phrase tells how or by whom he was described

Nouns: Object of the Preposition Prepositions are small words that create a relationship between other words in a sentence by linking phrases to the rest of the sentence. The nouns that follow them are objects of the preposition. [In the following examples, the preposition is bold and the object of the preposition is underlined.] From the beginningof the storm, Dorothy was sure she would make it home.

BEGINNING is the object of the preposition FROM, and STORM is the object of the preposition OF. For many in the class, math proved to be the most challenging subject. You can find the object of the preposition by asking the question WHAT? about the preposition. e.g. For what? MANY. In what? CLASS. Until sunrise, the SWAT team will hide in the marsh. The preposition UNTIL serves to connect its object (SUNRISE) with the main clause. The preposition IN connects its object MARSH to the verb, making the whole phrase part of the complete predicate. The fuzzy, red cat on the fence wanders among the houses. FENCE acts as the object of the preposition ON. The whole phrase acts as part of the complete subject. HOUSES is the object of the preposition AMONG. The whole phrase acts as part of the complete predicate. When a pronoun acts as an object of the preposition, it must take the objective case. [In the following examples, the preposition is bold and the object of the preposition is underlined.] Bill was more than a little irritated when the water balloon fell on him. HIM acts as the object of the preposition ON. It is incorrect to write fell on HE. Theo gave a dollar to Stephen and me to go to the store. Both STEPHEN and ME act as the object of the preposition TO. It would be incorrect to write TO STEPHEN AND I. It seems like a waste of time for you and me to drive to Portland for the game. Both YOU and ME act as the object of the first preposition FOR. GAME is the object of the second preposition FOR.