Basic sentence structure: SVO

The sentence structure known as SVO is a structure that refers to a sentence composed in the following manner:

Subject + Verb (transitive) + direct Object 

S + V + O

Here we have some examples of sentences that follow the SVO structure:

1. I told DB. 

NP = I (Subject) 

V = told (Trans. V) 

NP = D.B (direct Object) 

2. I liked her. 

NP = I (Subject)
V = liked (Trans. V)
NP = her (direct Object) 

3. He wrote this terrific book of short stories. 

NP = He
V = wrote
NP = this terrific book of short stories

4. I brushed my hair 

NP = I (subject)

V = brushed  (trans. V)

NP= my hair (direct Object) 

5. The whole team ostracized me. 

NP = The whole team (Subject)
V = ostracized (Trans. V)  
NP = me (direct Object) 



Note: All the sentences are from The Catcher In The Rye (1951) by J.D. Salinger. 

Transitive verbs and direct object

A transitive verb is one that requires a direct object to complement it. If the main verb requires a direct object to complete the sentence then we are talking about a transitive verb.
Look at the following example:

NP = An 11-year-old Canadian Boy     (Subject) 

V (trans) = saved  (Verb) 

NP = his whole family (Direct Object)  

The direct object is something or someone who receives the action or was affected by the action.

“One way of identifying the direct object in a declarative sentence is by asking a question introduced by who or what followed by the operator and the subject. The object is the constituent that who or what questions:” (Greenbaum and Nelson 15). 

What (dO) did (Op) an 11-year-old Canadian boy (Subject) save?
His whole family (dO)

Note: Remember that a transitive verb must have a direct object.