Final answer:
In the provided sentence, 'autographs' is the direct object, as it receives the action of the verb 'sign,' . Option 1 is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the sentence “After the long match, the players rested momentarily before they began to sign autographs,” the direct object is the word ‘autographs’.
A direct object receives the action of the verb and answers the question “what?” or “whom?” after the verb. The action being performed by the subject ‘players’ is ‘sign,’ and the question we can ask to find the direct object is ‘What do they sign?’.
The answer is ‘autographs,’ which makes it the direct object. This is akin to the example where Robert is the subject, “dropped” is the verb, and “ball” is the direct object because it answers the question “What did Robert drop?”.