retained object


noun Grammar.

an object in a passive construction identical with the direct or indirect object in the active construction from which it is derived, as the picture in I was shown the picture, which is also the direct object in the active construction (They) showed me the picture.

Origin of retained object

First recorded in 1930–35

British Dictionary definitions for retained object

retained object

noun

grammar a direct or indirect object of a passive verb. The phrase the drawings in the sentence Harry was given the drawings is a retained object