What is an indirect object?

Are you ready to learn about indirect objects (IOs)? Great! If you haven't read the lesson on direct objects (DOs) yet, you'll probably want to do that before reading on.

Indirect objects are nouns (or pronouns) that tell us for whom/what or to whom/what the action of the verb is done.

They are indirectly affected by the action of the verb.

The boy kicked Lori the ball.

Alice poured me lemonade.

Lori is an IO. It is receiving the direct object (ball).

Me is an IO. It is receiving the direct object (lemonade).

In order for a sentence to have an IO, it MUST have a DO (direct object).

When we fill in the blanks for our example sentences above, our question becomes...

The boy kicked the ball to whom?

Alice poured the lemonade for whom?

The answers are Lori and me. Lori and me are IOs.

Look at these two sentences. 

1. Alice gave me a flower.

2. Alice gave a flower to me.

Those sentences give us the same information, but the second one uses a preposition (to) and the first one does not.

Sentences with IOs tell us TO whom/what or FOR whom/what something is done, but they don't contain the words to or for. It's as though these sentences contain "missing" prepositions. 

IOs are diagrammed underneath the verb just like a prepositional phrase without the preposition. 

Place an (x) in the place where the preposition would normally go.

Elizabeth read Lori the newspaper.

Directions: Find the verbs, the DOs, and the IOs in the following sentences. 

1. I gave my friend a bouquet of flowers.

2. Jeremy and Sara brought the hostess delicious chocolates.

3. Olivia's music teacher lent her a recording of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. 

4. My sister-in-law sent us photos of the wedding.

5. The teacher handed her student the assignment.

6. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 

Answers

The transitive active verbs are in bold, the direct objects are underlined, and the IOs are in red.

1. I gave my friend a bouquet of flowers.

2. Jeremy and Sara brought the hostess delicious chocolates.

3. Olivia's music teacher lent her a recording of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. 

4. My sister-in-law sent us photos of the wedding.

5. The teacher handed her student the assignment.

6. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. 

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