Notes on the DO, IO, OC, and SC (PN and PA)

Direct Object

The d.o. is always a noun

The d.o. will always follow an action verb- an action that you can do to someone or to something

The d.o. will answer the question WHO or WHAT

The d.o. will NEVER be in a prepositional phrase (cross them out!)

The dog eats food.
The dog eats what? Food  (Direct Object)

Indirect Object

There must be a direct object

Therefore, there must be an action verb

The indirect object will always come BEFORE the d.o.

The indirect object answers the questions TO WHOM, TO WHAT, or FOR WHOM

The i.o. is NEVER in a prep phrase

The i.o. is ALWAYS a noun

The dog brought me his bone.
The dog brought his bone to whom? Me (Indirect Object)

Verbs commonly used with indirect objects:

SEND, LEND, BRING, and GIVE

Indirect Objects can be rephrased as prepositional phrases after the direct object:

The dog brought his bone to me.  (Prep Phrase)

The Objective Complement

An objective complement is an adjective or a noun that appears with a direct object and describes or renames it. Object Complements can either be nouns or adjectives.  They restate the direct object.

I made my dog angry.  (angry = adjective)

I consider my dog a good companion.  (companion = noun)

They are used only with the following verbs:

Appoint, Name, Make, Think, & Call

An objective complement can only be found in a sentence with a direct object.

To determine if a word is an objective complement, say the verb and the direct object, then ask What?

The girl considers her dog intelligent.
The girl considers her dog what? Intelligent (Objective Complement)

Predicate Nominative

There must be a linking verb (state of being verb)

The pn means the same thing as the subject

The pn is NEVER in a prep phrase

The pn is ALWAYS a noun

The pn is ALWAYS on the RIGHT side of the linking verb

John is the captain. 

Predicate Adjective

There must be a linking verb

A predicate adjective describes the subject

The predicate adjective is NEVER in a prep phrase

The predicate adjective is always an adjective

The predicate adjective is ALWAYS on the right side of the verb

The dog is hungry.

Source: www.harths.org