NoriThe を particle: what you're actually doing
The を particle looks scary because textbooks call it "direct object." You don't need that label. You need: what is getting acted on?
みずを のみます. Water is what you drink. えいがを みます. A movie is what you watch. ほんを よみます. A book is what you read. The verb is the action. を sits on the thing that receives it.
If you can point at the noun and then do the verb, を is usually right. Destination (に) and place-of-action (で) are different jobs. Don't stack them in your head today.
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A useful check: drop the English preposition. "I drink water" has no "to" or "at." That's a を sentence. "I go to school" is not. Save に for later.
Write three lines tonight: drink, eat, watch. Put を on the thing. Read them once. That's the particle.
を marks the direct object — the thing the verb acts on. みずを のみます. Water is what you drink. If you can point at the thing, を is often the particle.
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