(The indirect object, me, is affected by the direct object, favor, done by the subject, She. Note that you could also say I gave the cake to Joe.) (The indirect object, Joe, receives the direct object, cake, given by the subject, I. You can spot an indirect object if it makes sense to place to or for in front of it. Verbs may also take indirect objects, which receive the direct object. ( weights receives the action, lifts, done by the subject, She)

( cake receives the action, like, done by the subject, I) Verbs often take direct objects, which receive the action of the verb carried out by the subject.

A broken dish is an example of a phrase containing a participle as an adjective (see Adjectives and Adverbs). For instance, breaking and broken are the present and past participles, respectively, of the verb break. You will sometimes hear the word participle, which is the form of a verb used with helping verbs to make verb tenses or is used to form adjectives. Many verbs can function as helping verbs, including is, shall, must, do, has, can, keep, get, start, help, etc. Helping verbs are so named because they help clarify the intended meaning. It has a two-word main verb, breaking down (also called a phrasal verb), and two helping verbs ( had and been). For instance, had been breaking down is a four-word verb. Verbs often consist of more than one word. They include all forms of the verb to be ( be, being, been, am, is, are, was, were), plus such words as look, feel, appear, act, go, followed by an adjective.

State-of-being verbs are called linking verbs. We will use the standard of underlining subjects once and verbs twice.

What is a verb noun and adjective