When a sentence uses a transitive verb to describe an action, it’s necessary for the subject to take a direct object and to act on it: “The woman spurned her suitor last week.” “Her suitor found a ...

Je mange une pomme - I’m eating an apple. Je is the subject, the person who is doing the action. Une pomme is the object because it is on the receiving end of the action.

Languages differ as to whether they are accusative or ergative. In other words, grammatical rules in some languages are sensitive to the distinction between Subjects and Objects; in others, to the ...