* Direct objects receive the action of the verb. To figure out if a word is a direct object, ask "What?" or "Whom?" after the verb.
Examples:
* "He enjoys hiking and camping."
* Here, "hiking and camping" are the objects of the preposition "enjoying." They tell us what he enjoys, but they don't directly receive the action of the verb "enjoys."
* "She loves to go hiking and camping."
* Here, "hiking and camping" are not direct objects because they are part of the infinitive phrase "to go hiking and camping." The direct object is implied: "She loves to go (to what?) hiking and camping."
* "I went hiking and camping last weekend."
* Here, "hiking and camping" are not direct objects. They are part of a compound verb phrase ("went hiking and camping"). The verb phrase is the action, and "hiking and camping" describe what kind of action was taken.
To make them direct objects, you need to structure the sentence differently:
* "She loves hiking and camping." (Here, "hiking and camping" are the direct objects of the verb "loves." She loves what? Hiking and camping.)
Let me know if you have any other sentences you'd like to analyze!