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Action verbs come in two varieties: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs. A transitive verb has the intrinsic ability to attach directly to a noun, and that noun is called the direct object. Thus, in the sentence John hit the ball, the word ball is the direct object of the transitive verb hit.

Also, objects of verbs show up in verbal phrases as well. These are called verbal objects. If the verb is transitive, it can pick up a noun and produce a phrase.

In the sentence He wanted to hit the ball, the word ball serves as the verbal object of the infinitive to hit.

In the sentence The player scoring the most points wins the game, the word points serves as the object of the present participle scoring.