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Grammar
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The Indirect Object
The Indirect Object: A Definition
The second complement you will learn is the indirect object. Recall that a complement is a word that helps
“complete” the sentence by giving it more detail. Like the direct object, with which you are already familiar, the
indirect object is used only with action verbs. Also, an indirect object will never appear in a sentence without the
presence of a direct object. It’s fairly obvious that a direct object receives the action of the verb directly (thus the
name); an indirect object receives the action of the verb, but not directly.
The indirect object of the verb precedes (comes before) the direct object and tells to whom or what, or for
whom or what, the action of the verb is done.
How to Find the Indirect Object
You have learned to find the direct object by putting the simple subject and verb together and asking
yourself What? or Whom? The indirect object is found in a similar fashion. To find the indirect object, put the
simple subject, the verb phrase, and the direct object together, then ask, To what?, To whom?, For what?, or For
whom? The logical answer should be the indirect object.
The indirect object definitely falls into that category of “You know it when you see it,” and it’s really
pretty obvious once you take the time to examine a sentence carefully. Look at the following examples:
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The boy threw his father the ball. To find the indirect object, we find the simple subject and verb first. We come up
with boy threw. Now you will apply what you learned last week to get the direct object. So you ask yourself, “The boy
threw what or whom?” and the answer is ball. Now that you have the subject, verb phrase, and direct object, put them
all together and ask, “The boy threw the ball to what or whom, or for what or whom?” The answer is, to his father. To
whom did the boy throw the ball? He threw the ball to his father. Father is the indirect object.
My grandfather sent me a birthday card. To find the indirect object, we find the simple subject and verb first. We
come up with grandfather sent. Now you will apply what you learned last week to get the direct object. So you ask
yourself, “My grandfather sent what or whom?” and the answer is (birthday) card. Now that you have the subject, verb
phrase, and direct object, put them all together and ask, “My grandfather sent a birthday card to what or whom, or for
what or whom?” The answer is, to me. To whom did my grandfather send a birthday card? He sent a card to me. Me is
the indirect object.
They showed my mother their report cards. What is the indirect object in this sentence?
Warning! Students are often fooled into thinking that the indirect object is the direct object. I don’t know why this
happens, because it’s really so obvious. Take the previous three sentences. I have asked students before, “What is the direct
object for example sentence #1?” They tell me, “Father is the direct object!” But how can this be? Visualize the sentence.
What is the boy throwing? Could he actually be throwing his father? No! He’s throwing the ball to his father. Look at the
other two sentences. Is the grandfather physically sending “me”? Are the people in sentence three showing someone’s
mother? The answer in both cases is decidedly no.
The Indirect Object “In a Nutshell”
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An indirect object receives the action of a verb, but not directly.
An indirect object can be found by putting the subject, verb phrase, and direct object together, and then
asking, “To what or whom?” or “For what or whom?”
An indirect object, like any object, will always be a noun or a pronoun.
An indirect object can never be within a prepositional phrase. Yes, the indirect object answers the questions
To What? or To Whom?, or For What? or For Whom? And yes, to and for are both prepositions. But notice that in
all the examples, the prepositions to and for never actually appear. They are implied. The following sentence
does not have any indirect objects: My neighbor gave his key to me. You might think to yourself, “Me is the
indirect object, because it answers the question, “To whom is the key given?” In fact, there is no indirect
object because me is the object of the preposition to.
You cannot have an indirect object in a sentence without having a direct object.
An indirect object can only appear in a sentence that has an action verb.
An indirect object can be compound; in other words, a verb could take more than one indirect object.
Example: He awarded Bob and Sally first prize. Both Bob and Sally are indirect objects in this sentence.