Direct and Indirect Objects

Direct and Indirect Objects Direct and Indirect Objects Direct and Indirect Objects By Maeve Maddox A transitive verb takes its name from the fact that its action goes â€Å"across† from the verb to a receiver of the action. The receiver of the action is called an object. Transitive verbs can take two kinds of object: â€Å"Direct Object (DO)† and â€Å"Indirect Object (IO).† Direct Objects A direct object may be a noun, pronoun, phrase, or clause. In order to identify the direct object, take the verb and ask the question â€Å"verb what?† or â€Å"verb whom?†: The lovely green crocodile swallowed the unwary swimmer. Question: â€Å"Swallowed what?† Answer: â€Å"the unwary swimmer.† The direct object is the noun swimmer and the words that go with it. The direct object can be a gerund or an infinitive phrase: His son likes repairing cars. (gerund, DO of likes) I want to write a best-selling novel. (infinitive phrase, DO of want) The direct object can be a noun clause: Mary Lou hates when her mother makes her clean the cat pan. (noun clause, DO of hates) I thought that you were going to pick me up after school. (noun clause, DO of thought) Please explain why you painted the garage pink. (noun clause, DO of explain) Indirect Objects An indirect object may be a noun or a pronoun. The Indirect Object does not receive the action of the verb; it receives the Direct Object. The verb is still the clue for identifying the Indirect Object. The question to ask is â€Å"Verb to† or â€Å"for What/Whom?† Uncle Scrooge left his nephews all his money. Question: â€Å"left to or for whom?† Answer: â€Å"his nephews† The Indirect Object is the noun nephews and the adjective that goes with it. When a transitive verb has both a direct object and an indirect object, the indirect object will usually come directly after the verb. Here are some more examples of Indirect Objects (in boldface): Sheherazade told the sultan a marvelous story. The construction engineer built his daughter a house. You have lain around the house long enough; get yourself a job. Here are some common words that take an indirect object with the â€Å"to† implied: award give grant hand lend offer owe tell promise pass show teach throw Here are some common verbs that take an indirect object with â€Å"for† implied: build buy catch choose cook find get make order peel pour save Both Direct and Indirect objects are said to be in the Accusative Case. Older terminology would classify nouns and pronouns used as Indirect Objects as being in the Dative Case. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar 101 category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Addressing A Letter to Two PeopleBody Parts as Tools of MeasurementMay Have vs. Might Have