To identify an indirect object in a sentence, ask yourself the questions "to whom?" or "for whom?" regarding the action of the verb.
Indirect objects receive the direct object. They specify to whom or for whom the action is done. Here's a breakdown:
- Identify the Verb: First, locate the verb in the sentence.
- Find the Direct Object: Ask "Who?" or "What?" receives the action of the verb. This is your direct object.
- Determine the Indirect Object: Now, ask "To whom/what?" or "For whom/what?" is the direct object given or the action done. The answer is the indirect object.
Examples:
-
Sentence: "He threw her the ball."
- Verb: threw
- Direct Object: ball (He threw what? The ball.)
- Indirect Object: her (He threw the ball to whom? Her.)
-
Sentence: "I bought my mother a gift."
- Verb: bought
- Direct Object: gift (I bought what? A gift.)
- Indirect Object: my mother (I bought a gift for whom? My mother.)
-
Sentence: "She gave the dog a treat."
- Verb: gave
- Direct Object: treat (She gave what? A treat.)
- Indirect Object: the dog (She gave a treat to whom? The dog.)
Key Points:
- Indirect objects always come before the direct object in a sentence.
- Prepositional phrases beginning with "to" or "for" often indicate the same relationship, but they aren't considered indirect objects. For example, in the sentence "I gave the book to Sarah", "to Sarah" is a prepositional phrase, not an indirect object. The indirect object version would be: "I gave Sarah the book."
- A sentence cannot have an indirect object without also having a direct object.
By asking "to whom?" or "for whom?" you can reliably locate the indirect object within a sentence.
