What is a subject, and what is an object?

Answer 1

To clarify the first answer just a little: there are actually two objects in

John throws the ball to Angela

one direct and one indirect - the ball is the direct object and Angela is the indirect object.

What is the difference between the two? Most will say that the thing, being or person more directly affected by the action expressed by the verb would be the direct object. And they seem to think it's logical that that would be the ball and not Angela. Others, and I'm with those, don't see this logic (what if the ball doesn't care whether it is being thrown and Angela wants it desperately?). The truth is probably, that in English the distinction between direct and indirect objects is not in the content or the meaning - it is merely a formal distinction: if there is no preposition between the verb and the object it's a direct object. If there is a preposition, as in to Angela it is an indirect object. To "buy" this latter explanation, which I prefer, you must however know that when the indirect object is realized through a pronoun the preposition tends to go away: He gave her the ball. But note that now the order of objects is reversed and if you return to the previous order (where objects are realized as nouns) the preposition comes back: He gave the ball to her.

Another way of thinking about this problem is to begin with the verb, say throw. To form a grammatical statement with throw you must first state who or what is doing the throwing.

*John throws.

If that seems somehow an incomplete sentence, it's because the verb throw also demands an object (= it is a transitive verb). We can say something like John sleeps. but not *John throws. Something must be thrown:

John throws the ball.

Now it seems OK to place a period at the end. Of course, we can add to Angela -

John throws the ball to Angela

but that's extra, not required. The verb throw requires a direct object (such as ball) but not an indirect object.

Some verbs do require both types of objects. *John gives the ball. is incomplete. We must add to Angela.

Answer 2

A subject is the person or thing doing an action in a sentence. An object is the person or thing to which the action is being done.

Example:

"Michael throws the ball to Angela."

Michael is the subject in this sentence, because he is doing the throwing. Angela is the object because the ball is being thrown to her.