Download Diagramming Indirect Objects

Grammar
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Diagra mming Indirect Objects
Once you locate an indirect object, diagramming it is relatively simple. The indirect object is
placed on a horizontal line directly below the verb, with a diagonal line that joins it to the verb. When
you think about it, an indirect object is diagrammed much like a prepositional phrase, only the diagonal
line has no preposition on it (we might assume, however, that to or for is implied). Observe the pattern
below.
Subject
Verb
Direct Object
Indirect Object
Because indirect objects are nouns or pronouns, they can be modified by adjectives (including the
articles a, an, and the), or by prepositional phrases. Any modifiers of an indirect object will be
diagrammed in the same way modifiers of the subject or direct object of the sentence are diagrammed.
They will simply be placed directly below the indirect object. Take, for example, the sentence
“She gave the shaggy dog a treat.” Try diagramming this sentence in the space below:
Or how about the sentence, “Doug sent the girl with the red hair a valentine”? Now you have to deal
with a prepositional phrase modifying your indirect object:
A compound indirect object uses the same construction as a compound predicate, or what we
have referred to as the Y-Wing Fighter shape. Take, for example, the sentence,
“My friends told me and Susie a lie.” How would we diagram this sentence?
OVER
Please diagram the following sentences below or on a separate sheet of paper for homework.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
I handed the teller my check, but she did not accept it.
My grandmother sent my brother and me a Valentine’s Day card.
Susan left me a message on my answering machine.
Don’t tell Joe our secret!
The Bill of Rights guarantees citizens certain liberties.
He offered her his hand in marriage, but she politely declined.