Direct and Indirect Objects

1
Direct and Indirect Objects
2
Reminders

• Subject performs the action of the sentence.
• Verb is the action of the sentence.

3
Direct Objects

• A direct object is a noun or pronoun that
  receives the action of a transitive action verb.

4
Examples
To find the direct object ask What? or
Whom? OR For What? or For Whom? of
the verb.

• The old man chewed his food.
• The dog dug a hole under the fence.
• Alexander the Great conquered leaders in most of
  ancient Europe.

Chewed what?
Dug what?
Conquered what?
5
Identify the Direct Objects in the following
sentences.

• Tommy caught the flu and is at home sick.
• My teacher wanted my essay.
• The Seahawks played an amazing game in spite of
  their loss Monday night.
• After class, I wrote a note.
• The young girl scouts sold cookies and drinks at
  the football game.

6
Indirect Objects
An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that
indirectly receives the action of a transitive
action verb. It names the person to whom or for
whom something is done.
7
Examples
To find the indirect object ask To Who? or
To Whom? OR For Who? or For Whom? of the
direct object.

• After class I wrote her a note.
• My cousin brought us freshly picked vegetables.
• Loud music gives my brother headaches.

Wrote what? To whom?
Brought what? For who?
Gives what? To whom?
8
Identify the Indirect Objects in the following
sentences.

• Hannah sent me an email.
• Caroline baked her family double-fudge brownies.
• Bens sister made the team a pitcher of lemonade.
• I gave the dog a dish of water.
• Johnny Depp gave me his autograph.

9
Danger Will Robinson!
When the indirect object follows a preposition,
it becomes the object of the preposition, and is
no longer considered an indirect object.
Example Indirect Object After class I wrote
her a note.
Example Prepositional Phrase After class I
wrote a note to her. Since it follows the
preposition to, it is the object of the
preposition and NOT an indirect object.
10
Question Indirect Object or Object of the
Preposition?

• Walker gave the bone to the dog.
• I tutored my sister for her math test.
• On Thanksgiving, my mother prepared us a feast.
• On Halloween, my family gave candy to the
  neighborhood children.
• The middle school sent the shelter five hundred
  cans of food.

OP
OP
IO
OP
IO
11
Transitive Verbs
Verbs which transfer their action to an object.
In other words, transitive verbs have a direct
object. Note For a sentence to have an
indirect object, it must always have a direct
object, but a sentence can have a direct object
without an indirect object.
12
Intransitive Verbs

• Verb that completes its action without an object.
• Examples
• I apologized for my late assignment.
• assignment is the object of the preposition for
  there is
• no direct object.
• I explained about my sore toe.
• toe is the object of the preposition about there
  is no
• direct object

13
Remember

• Since a linking verb does not express an action,
  it is intransitive.
• Apologies are wonderful. (Predicate Adjective)
• My explanation was a failure. (Predicate Noun)