In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: A direct object could be a noun or a pronoun, and always follows an action verb. An action verb is a verb that requires something or someone to receive that action. Without a direct object, a sentence that contains an action verb may not make any sense. For example, consider the sentence, "Dennis and Johanna ate omelettes for breakfast." If you were to remove the direct object from the sentence, the verb's action no longer makes much sense ("Dennis and Johanna ate for breakfast.") The direct object gives us information about the action that was performed by telling us for whom or for what the action was performed. In the example of Dennis and Johanna, the eating was performed for the omelettes. The subject of the sentence is the person/thing doing something in a sentence. You can determine this by asking yourself "who" or "what" is performing the action in a sentence. For example, "Sam showed his mother the new museum." Who performed an action in this sentence? Sam did. What did he do? He showed his mother the new museum. In this example, the direct object is "the new museum." If you ask yourself, "What or whom was shown?" You can see that the museum is what was shown, and is the direct object. If a sentence contains an action verb (cook, hug, show) there is a greater chance that a direct object will exist to receive the action of that verb. Action verbs that require a direct object are often called "transitive verbs", while action verbs that don't require a direct object are often referred to as "intransitive verbs." An example of a transitive action verb: "They gave Jeremy the money." In this sentence, the verb is "gave." Ask yourself what the subject ("they") did. The subject "gave." This is a transitive verb. You can tell it's transitive, because if you left the sentence at "they gave Jeremy," the sentence would no longer make sense. This verb needs a direct object. In this case, the direct object is "money," because the money is what was given. ("Jeremy" is the indirect object, to whom the money was given.) In some cases, a sentence may have more than one direct object, or the direct object may be a clause. Clauses can be particularly misleading, so think carefully about who or what is receiving the action of the verb. For example, "John took his backpack and books to school." In this case, both "backpack" and "books" are direct objects. An example of a direct object clause exists in this sentence: "John loves baking cakes." In this case, the action verb is "loves," and the direct object is "baking cakes." If you ask yourself, "what does John love?", you will see that the answer is, "baking cakes." Not all sentences will contain a direct object. For example, if the sentence contains a "linking" verb (e.g. am, is, are), "state of being" verb (seem, remain, feel), or an intransitive action verb (e.g. sneezed, danced, cried) , then it may not contain a direct object. An example of a linking verb is included in the following sentence: "They are stubborn children." The linking verb here ("are") links the subject (the children) with the adjective ("stubborn"). An example of a state of being verb: "Sarah felt ill." In this sentence, the verb "feels" simply explains the state of the subject (Sarah). An example of an intransitive action verb: "Hannah sneezed repeatedly." The verb here is, "sneezed", but if you ask yourself, "Who or what did Hannah sneeze?" You will find that there is no answer in the sentence which explains that.
Summary: Consider the purpose of the direct object. Find the subject of the sentence. Look for the direct object in sentences with "transitive" action verbs. Keep in mind that there can be more than one direct object. Recognize that some sentences will not have a direct object.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: Most states have laws preventing you from leaving TVs and other electronics outside for trash pickup. Some individual companies also have rules against this type of disposal. However, most waste companies give paying customers the option of dropping off old TVs at a site for recycling. Depending on the company, you may need to show a driver's license or utility bill to gain access to the site. Most of these centers accept TVs and other items, such as cameras, small appliances, cell phones, CD players, and photocopiers. Many cities and towns have pick-up or drop-off options for electronics and other large items. They may give you one day per month to take your TV to a specific spot in town. Some cities may even pick up your old (extremely heavy) TVs from your home. Go to your town or county's website to look for this information. In the United States, BestBuy is the only major retailer that picks up and recycles old TVs. They charge a fee for this service, and they limit you to getting rid of two TVs per family per day. Unfortunately, BestBuy doesn't accept all TVs, especially if they're super big. Call the store to see if your TV qualifies. You can also drop the TV off at the store to avoid paying BestBuy's "haul-away fee." If you buy a new TV from them, this fee is pretty minimal. For non-customers, it's about $100. Some manufacturers will accept your old television set and recycle it themselves. Contact the manufacturer to see if your TV qualifies for this service. You may even get a little money back in return for your old TV! Usually, you'll need to find the nearest drop-off site by looking online or talking to a representative on the phone. Be sure to follow the company's guidelines for proper recycling. Remember that in addition to the tv you'll want to recycle your receiver.
Summary:
Call your waste disposal company to find a recycling site. Look for a recycling program in your area. Call BestBuy to get rid of your old TV. Return the used television to the manufacturer.