Indirect Object

In all the examples on this page, the indirect objects are shaded, and the direct objects are in bold.

• Paula passed the parcel. (The direct object is "the parcel." There is no recipient of "the parcel" in this sentence. Therefore, there is no indirect object.)

• Paula passed her father the parcel. (The indirect object (i.e., the recipient) is "her father.")

Video Lesson

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More Examples of Indirect Objects

• Simon gave his uncle a dirty look. ("His uncle" is the indirect object. He is the recipient of the direct object, "a dirty look.")
• Paula passed the money to her mother . ("Her mother" is the indirect object. She is the recipient of the direct object, "the money.")
  (Note: Sometimes, the indirect object will follow a preposition like "to" or "for.")
• Give him it. ("Him" is the indirect object. He is the recipient of the direct object, "it.")
  (Note: When the indirect object is a pronoun, the pronoun must be in the objective case. So, "him" is correct. "He" would be wrong.)
• Shall I tell the children our ghost story tonight? ("The children" is the indirect object. They are the recipients of the direct object, "our ghost story.")

How to Find the Indirect Object

• She gave the beggar a gold coin.
  • Step 1. Find the verb = "gave"
  • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "a gold coin" (Therefore, the direct object is "a gold coin.")
  • Step 3. Ask "Who (or what) received it?" = "the beggar" (Therefore, the indirect object is "the beggar.")
  • Show me the signature.
    • Step 1. Find the verb = "show"
    • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "the signature" (Therefore, the direct object is "the signature.")
    • Step 3. Ask "Who (or what) will receive it?" = "me" (Therefore, the indirect object is "me.")

    Indirect Objects Preceded by "To" or "For"

    • She gave a letter to Jennifer .
    • She gave Jennifer a letter. (The preposition "to" is now omitted.)
    • He presented the prize to the winning captain .
    • He bought lunch for Alison .
    • When giving jewellery as a present, I'm giving protection to someone I care about . (Actress Sofia Boutella)

    I Don't Agree!

    • Give the box to Sarah . (Some claim "Sarah" is the object of the preposition "to" and not an indirect object.)
    • Give Sarah the box. (Everyone agrees Sarah is an indirect object when there is no preposition.)

    More Detail about Indirect Objects

    Indirect Objects Are Usually People

    • I have given the room a quick inspection.
    • Metaphors give your writing some spice.
    • Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity . (Educational reformer Horace Mann)

    The Objective Case

    • They know her. (The pronoun "her" (the direct object of "know") is the objective-case version of "she.")
    • Give us the diamonds. (The pronoun "us" (the indirect object of "give") is the objective-case version of "we.")
    • Pass me the butter. (The pronoun "me" (the indirect object of "pass") is the objective-case version of "I.")

    Personal Pronoun	Objective Case Version	Comment
    I	me
    you	you	no change
    he	him
    she	her
    it	it	no change
    we	us
    they	them
    who	whom	This one causes errors. Read about who/whom.
    whoever	whomever	This one causes errors. Read about whoever/whomever.

    Objects and Transitive Verbs

    • Jonathan skidded on the ice.
      • Step 1. Find the verb = "skidded"
      • Step 2. Ask "What?" = Nothing. You can't skid something.) (Therefore, there is no direct object. The verb "to skid" is intransitive.)
      • Step 3. We can't do Step 2 if there's no direct object.
      • Lee is snoring heavily.
        • Step 1. Find the verb = "is snoring"
        • Step 2. Ask "What?" = Nothing. You can't snore something.) (Therefore, there is no direct object. The verb "to snore" is intransitive.)
        • Step 3. We can't do Step 2 if there's no direct object.

        Direct Objects vs Complements

        • Jonathan was angry.
          • Step 1. Find the verb = "was"
          • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "angry.") (However, on this occasion, "angry" is not the direct object. This is because "was (i.e., the verb to be)" is a linking verb.)
          • Jonathan seemed uncomfortable.
            • Step 1. Find the verb = "seemed"
            • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "uncomfortable.") (However, "uncomfortable" is not the direct object. This is because "to seem" is a linking verb.)

            Objects and Verbals

            It's not just verbs that can have direct and indirect objects. Verbals can too. The verbals are infinitives (e.g., "to read," "to think"), gerunds (e.g., "reading," "thinking"), and participles (e.g., "reading," "thinking" - they look the same as gerunds).

            • To give me a gun was lunacy. ("To give" is an infinitive.)
              • Step 1. Find the "verb" (in this case, it's an infinitive) = "to give"
              • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "a gun" (Therefore, the direct object is "a gun.")
              • Step 3. Ask "Who (or what) will receive it?" = "me" (Therefore, the indirect object is "me.")
              • I was planning on presenting John the wooden spoon. ("Presenting" is a gerund.)
                • Step 1. Find the "verb" (in this case, it's a gerund) = "presenting"
                • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "the wooden spoon" (Therefore, the direct object is "the wooden spoon.")
                • Step 3. Ask "Who (or what) will receive it?" = "John" (Therefore, the indirect object is "John.")
                • Throwing her dog a dirty look, she stormed out the room. ("Throwing" is a participle.)
                  • Step 1. Find the "verb" (in this case, it's a present participle) = "throwing"
                  • Step 2. Ask "What?" = "a dirty look" (Therefore, the direct object is "a dirty look.")
                  • Step 3. Ask "Who (or what) will receive it?" = "her dog" (Therefore, the indirect object is "her dog.")

                  Why Indirect Objects Are Important

                  Native English speakers make few mistakes related to indirect objects because, in English, nouns, articles, and adjectives do not change depending on their role in a sentence. In other words, "the big dog" is "the big dog" regardless of whether it's doing something (i.e., the subject), having something done to it (i.e., the direct object), or the recipient of something (i.e., the indirect object). The same is not true in many other languages.

                  Here are three good reasons to care about indirect objects.

                  (Reason 1) Knowing about objects is essential when learning a foreign language.

                  • Subject = nominative case
                  • Direct Object = accusative case
                  • Indirect Object = dative case
                  • The big dog gave the big dog the big dog. (We can work out what this means by looking at the word order.)
                  • Der große Hund gab dem großen Hund den großen Hund. (There are three different articles ("der," "dem," "den") and two different adjectives ("große," "großen"). We have it easy!)
                  • Veliki pas dao je velikom psu velikog psa. (They don't use articles in Serbo-Croat, but, even still, there are three different adjectives ("veliki," "velikom," "velikog") and three different words for dog ("pas," "psu," "psa"). Yeah, we definitely have it easy!)

                  (Reason 2) "Who/whom" is just like "he/him" and "they/them."

                  • Who gave whom whom, according to "whom"? ("Who" is subject of "gave." The first "whom" is the indirect object, the second "whom" is the direct object, and the third "whom" is the object of a preposition.)
                  • John gave Mark Simon, according to Alan.
                  • He gave him him, according to him. (Native English speakers would have no issues converting the top version with names to the bottom version with pronouns, unless those pronouns were "who" and "whom.")

                  (Reason 3) "I" can't be an object.

                  Native English speakers rarely make mistakes with personal pronouns. However, this is not true for the pronoun "I" when it appears in a phrase like "my wife and I." There, it causes lots of mistakes! So, here's the rule:

                  "I" cannot be an object (a direct object, an indirect object, or an object of a preposition). ever.

                  • She gave my wife and I a present.
                  • She gave me and my wife a present.
                  It doesn't matter how posh "my wife and I" sounds. If you've used it as an object, it's wrong. You should be using "me and my wife" (it sounds more natural that way around). Read more about "my wife and I/me" on the personal pronouns page (see Point 1).

                  Key Points

                  • Learning a foreign language? You must understand objects.
                  • Did you write "whom"? Is it the subject of a verb? Yes? It's wrong.
                  • Did you write something like "my husband and I"? Is it the subject of a verb? No? It's wrong.

                  This page was written by Craig Shrives.