Direct and Indirect Objects

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Direct Objects

Does not refer to the subject

Instead, it receives the action of the
verb or shows the result of the
action.
It answers the questions what? or
whom? after an action verb.

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Direct Objects

Examples:

The doctor cured the disease

Doctorsubject
Curedverb
DiseaseDirect Object
The doctor cured what?
The disease

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Direct Objects

Example:

She bought a car.

Shesubject
Boughtverb
CarDirect Object
She bought what?
a car

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Indirect Objects

An indirect object is a noun or

pronoun in the predicate that
precedes the direct object.
It tells to whom or for whom the
action of the verb is done.
A direct object must be in the
sentence in order for an indirect
object to exist.
Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Indirect Objects

Example

bought her a dozen flowers.

Isubject
Boughtverb
I bought what?
Flowers
Direct Object
I bought flowers for whom?
Her
Indirect Object
Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Indirect Objects

Example

The teacher gave the students extra-credit.

Teachersubject
Gaveverb
The teacher gave what?
Extra-credit
Direct Object
The teacher gave extra-credit to whom?
Students
Indirect Object
Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Helpful Hint

The direct object and the indirect

object will never be found within a
prepositional phrase.

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Assignment

Please rewrite the following

sentences. For each sentence,
identify the direct object (DO) and
the indirect object (IO). Not every
sentence with contain both kinds of
objects.

Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Assignment
1. Last night Tim told us a ghost story.
2. It was about a kid in a haunted
house.
3. The kid bought himself the house
with his allowance money.
4. Even though ghosts wandered the
hallways, the kid was not afraid.
5. In fact, he introduced the ghost to
his friends.
Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects

Assignment
6. His friends were afraid of the ghost, but
they trusted the kid.
7. When Tim was done telling the story, he
told us to be very quiet.
8. Tim taught us the fine points of story
telling.
9. We feared the haunted house occupied by
ghosts.
10. Fortunately for us, the story did not
remind us of our homes.
Geschke--English IV
Grammar
Unit--Direct and Indirect Objects