Direct objects and Indirect objects

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Some verbs are followed by two objects: a direct object and an indirect object.

A direct object receives some direct action from the subject while the indirect object receives some indirect or secondary action or benefit from the subject.

There are two different sentence patterns possible when you have a direct object and an indirect object in the sentence.

Pattern #1

	indirect object	direct object
Elsie gave	her son	a car.
Mrs. Anderson wrote	Dave	a letter.

Pattern #2

	direct object	indirect object
Elsie gave	a car	to her son.
Mrs. Anderson sent	a letter	to Dave.

Notice that Pattern #2 [do, io] requires the preposition to (or for).

If the direct object is a pronoun, we usually use Pattern #2 [do, io].

Elsie gave	it	to her son.
Mrs. Anderson sent	it	to Dave.

If the indirect object is a pronoun, we usually use Pattern #1 [io, do].

Elsie gave	him	a car.
Mrs. Anderson sent	him	a letter.

If the indirect object is really long and complicated, we use Pattern #2 [do, io].

Prof. Mortimer gave	a test	to the students who had worked on the chapter for two and a half weeks.
I lent	my coat	to Paulo, who was not used to our harsh weather in North America.

Here are some words that are often followed by to plus an indirect object:

give	Prof. Mortimer gave the students a test. Prof. Mortimer gave a test to the students.
hand	Alan handed me the document. Alan handed the document to me.
lend	Please lend Maria your book. Please lend your book to Maria.
pass	Mother passed me the salt. Mother passed the salt to me.
send	Avery will send the department his registration. Avery will send his registration to the department.
show	Alex showed his father the award. Alex showed the award to his father.
tell	Jay told the audience a hilarious joke. Jay told a hilarious joke to the audience.
write	I'm going to write Angela a long letter tonight I'm going to write a long letter to Angela tonight.

Exception: The word introduce is followed by an indirect object and to, but it must always be in Pattern #2 [do, io].

Alex introduced Mother to Avery.

Note: With the preposition to, there is usually the sense that the indirect object is moving in the direction of the direct object.

Indirect objects using for

Indirect objects with for usually use Pattern #2 [do, io].

	direct object	indirect object
Please fix	my car	for me.
Fernando opened	the door	for his girlfriend.

Here are some words that are often followed by for plus an indirect object:

answer	The guide answered all our questions for us.
cash	The teller cashed a large check for Mr. Seymour.
cut	I cut a piece of chicken for my son.
fix	The technician fixed the computer for Aldo.
open	The manager opened the theater for us.
perform	The pianist performed a Mozart piece for the audience.
pour	The waitress poured some water for Mr. Clinton.
pronounce	The teacher pronounced all the words for us.
translate	The clerk translated the cable for the ambassador.

Exception: The following verbs can be followed by for and the indirect object in either Pattern #1 [io, do] or Pattern #2 [do, io].

buy	Julio bought Antonia a huge diamond ring. Julio bought a huge diamond ring for Antonia.
cut	I cut my son a piece of chicken. I cut a piece of chicken for my son.
get	The clerk got Alice the shoes from the storeroom. The clerk got the shoes from the storeroom for Alice.
make	Antonia made Julio a birthday cake. Antonia made a birthday cake for Julio.
pour	The waitress poured Mr. Clinton some water. The waitress poured some water for Mr. Clinton.

Exception: You can use either to or for with indirect objects and the verb explain, but it must

use Pattern #2 [do, io].

Prof. Simon explained global warming to the entire class.

Prof. Simon explained global warming for the entire class.

Note: With the preposition for, there is usually the sense that the indirect object benefits in some way from the action.

Practice #1 Practice #2 List of Lessons