Next, we are going to add an OBJECT to our verb sentences. So far, we've talked about who is doing the action – the AGENT. Now we're going to look at who or what the action is being done to – the OBJECT.
If we are still thinking about the AGENT as the ‘doer’ of an ACTION verb, then the OBJECT is the person or thing that gets ‘VERBED’.
The AGENT of an EXPERIENCE verb is the person who has the experience (the ‘experiencer’).
If the AGENT is the person having the experience, then the OBJECT is the person or thing that the experience is about.
Here are some examples in English and then in Māori:
Sarah hit the ball
'Sarah' is the AGENT because she is 'doing' the VERB
'hit' is the VERB
'the ball' is the OBJECT because it gets 'VERBED'
He has gone to the shops
'He' is the AGENT because he is 'doing' the verb
'gone' is the VERB
'the shops' are the OBJECT because they are the target (goal) of the VERB
I know the answer
'I' is the AGENT because 'I' is doing the VERB
'know' is the VERB
'the answer' is the OBJECT because it is the focus of the VERB
Now we'll look at the Māori sentences. (This is just to give us an idea; we'll go into detail in the following sections.)
I
patu
a
Sarah
i
te pōro
'patu' is the VERB
'Sarah' is the AGENT
'te pōro' is the OBJECT
Kua
haere
ia
ki
ngā toa
'haere' is the VERB
'ia' is the AGENT
'ngā toa' is the OBJECT
Kei te
mōhio
au
ki
te hua
'mōhio is the VERB
'au' is the AGENT
'te hua' is the OBJECT