identify the direct object.
Maria watched a deer walk across the street.
The direct object in this sentence is "a deer."
The direct object in the sentence is "a deer".
To identify the direct object in a sentence, you need to determine who or what is receiving the action of the verb. In this case, the verb is "watched," which is an action verb.
To find the direct object, ask the question "Maria watched what?" or "What did Maria watch?" The answer to these questions will give you the direct object.
In the sentence "Maria watched a deer walk across the street," the direct object is "a deer" because it is the thing that Maria watched.