The indirect object of a verb receives the direct object. In effect, the action moves from the subject, through the verb, to the direct object and then the indirect object.
Sue passed Ann the ball.
| subject | verb | indirect object | direct object |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sue | passed | Ann | the ball. |
Note that the indirect object comes between the verb and the direct object.
Look at some more example sentences:
| subject | verb | indirect object | direct object |
|---|---|---|---|
| The teacher | gave | the class | some homework. |
| I | read | her | the letter. |
| John | bought | Mary | a ring. |
| John | brought | Mary | some flowers. |
An indirect object can be one word or several words. It is usually:
In general an indirect object can be rephrased and repositioned as a prepositional phrase starting with "to" or "for". The examples above would then become:
| subject | verb | direct object | prepositional phrase |
|---|---|---|---|
| The teacher | gave | some homework | to the class. |
| I | read | the letter | to her. |
| John | bought | a ring | for Mary. |
| John | brought | some flowers | for Mary. |
Note that the prepositional phrase is NOT the indirect object—it is just a prepositional phrase.
To have an indirect object in a sentence there must first be a direct object. That also means that only transitive verbs can have an indirect object (because only transitive verbs can have a direct object).
To check whether an indirect object exists in a sentence, you first need to find the verb and direct object.
Example: Sue passed Ann the ball.
Answer: The indirect object is Ann.
Remember that pronouns can have subjective and objective case, like this:
| personal pronouns | |
|---|---|
| subjective case | objective case |
| I you he, she, it we they | me you him, her, it us them |
When the indirect object is a pronoun, the pronoun MUST be in objective case. Look at these examples:
The indirect object can appear in positive sentences, negative sentences, question sentences and imperative sentences. Here are some examples showing the indirect object in different types of sentence:
Contributor: Josef Essberger, founder of EnglishClub.com. Originally from London, England, Josef is the author of several books for learners of English including English Prepositions List and Learn English in 7.
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