Download Indirect Objects

Indirect Objects
An indirect object is the receiver of the direct object.
SN
V IO DO
Example: Mother baked me a cake. (a cake for whom?)
Rules for an indirect object:
1. In order to have an indirect object in a sentence, there must be a direct object.
SN
V
IO
DO
Example: Bill baked my mother some brownies.
2. You can mentally insert to or for before an indirect object.
SN V
IO
DO
Examples: A. Bill baked my mother brownies. (brownies for whom?)
SN
V
IO
DO
B. The carrier handed the lady a newspaper. (a newspaper for whom?)
Note: If to or for is actually written in the sentence, the noun or pronoun that follows is
NOT an indirect object. The noun or pronoun would be the OP.)
SN V P OP
DO
SN V
DO
P OP
Examples: A. He gave (to Martha) his umbrella. He gave his umbrella (to Martha).
(prepositional phrase – Martha is not an indirect object.)
SN
V
P
OP
DO
B. Ms. Martin received (for her neighbors) their vacation mail.
(Neighbors is not an indirect object. It is in the prep. phrase.)
3. A sentence containing a direct object does not have to contain an indirect object.
HV SN V D.O.
Examples: Did they send flowers? (No indirect object)
HV SN V
IO
DO
Did they send the winner flowers? (Indirect Object)
4. Compound indirect objects may occur in sentences.
SN
V
IO
IO
DO
Examples: A clown gave Teresa and Donald balloons.
SN
V
IO
IO DO
The chef prepared Larry and his date a meal.
Introducing Sentence Pattern 3 – Indirect Objects
Earlier you learned that nouns can have different jobs, or functions, in a sentence. You have
studied three of these jobs already: A noun can be a subject (SN), an object of a preposition
(OP), or a direct object (DO). You must remember, however, that a noun used as a subject or
direct object is a basic part of a sentence pattern (SN + V or SN +V + DO). But a noun that is
used as an object of a preposition is not part of a basic sentence pattern.
In the new sentence pattern, Pattern 3, there are three nouns in this basic sentence pattern:
N + V + N + N. The first noun is a subject noun and is still written as SN. The third noun is a
direct object and is still written as DO. The verb is labeled V after identifying the direct object.
The third noun is called an indirect object and is written with the abbreviation IO. The indirect
object will always come between the verb and direct object.
This third pattern is: SN + V + IO + DO.
1. An indirect object is a noun or pronoun.
2. An indirect object receives what the direct object names.
3. An indirect object is located between the verb and the direct object.
4. An indirect object is labeled as IO.
5. To find the indirect object, ask TO WHOM? or FOR WHOM? after the direct object.
Example sentence for the exact words to say to find the indirect object:
SN V
IO A ADJ DO
1. Jim bought me a concert ticket.
2. Who bought me a concert ticket? Jim - SN
3. What is being said about Jim? Jim bought - V
4. Jim bought what? ticket – DO
5. Jim bought ticket for whom? me - IO (Say: me -Indirect object)
6. A – Article; Concert – Adj.
7. Check for prepositional phrases. No prepositional phrases.
8. Period, statement, declarative sentence
9. Go back to the verb - divide the complete subject from the complete predicate.
10. Is there an adverb exception? No.
11. Is this sentence in a natural or inverted order? Natural - no change.