In today’s lesson, let’s look at how to find direct and indirect objects in a sentence. You can watch my video on YouTube or keep scrolling to read more.
Level A2
A: I made….
B: What did you make?
A: I made a sandwich.
direct object: a sandwich
A: We are reading…
B: What are you reading?
A: We are reading a book.
direct object: a book
A: Jim built…
What did Jim build?
A: He built a shelf.
direct object: a shelf
A: Heather has bought…
What has Heather bought?
A: Heather has bought curtains.
direct object: curtains
Direct objects answer the question: “What receives the verb?”
We use the word “direct” because the direct object receives the verb directly.
You can see in the examples above that all of the verbs need a direct object. Without a direct object, the sentences do not make sense.
Direct objects also answer the question: “Whom receives the verb?”
A: Amy will meet…
B: Whom will Amy meet?
A: Amy will meet Toby.
direct object: Toby
A: Mark wants to hire …
B: Whom does Mark want to hire?
A: Mark wants to hire Candice.
direct object: Candice
“Whom” is used to speak about a person and an object. However, this word is slowly disappearing from the English language and many native speakers just choose to use “who” instead.
Who will Amy meet?
Who does Mark want to hire?
We can, of course, make our direct object a pronoun: I made it.
We can make the subject and object more interesting: Rick and his children (subject) are reading comic books (direct object).
It doesn’t matter how complex a subject or a direct object is. When you’re looking for the direct object, first find the verb and then see what or whom the verb affects.
Indirect Objects
I made a sandwich.
It’s clear in this sentence that I made the sandwich. I was hungry. I ate the sandwich. But, what if the sandwich isn’t for me? What if I made the sandwich for someone else?
I made my grandpa a sandwich.
indirect object: my grandpa
We are reading the children a book.
indirect object: the children
Jim built his wife a shelf.
indirect object: his wife
Heather bought Cynthia curtains.
indirect object: Cynthia
Indirect objects receive the direct object.
My grandpa received the sandwich.
The children “are receiving” the story from the book as we read to them.
Jim’s wife received the shelf.
Cynthia has received the curtains.
Important.
You must have a direct object if you want an indirect object.
If there is no direct object, there is no indirect object.
Not all verbs take two objects. The verb “meet” does not need an indirect object.
Amy will meet Toby.
There is only a direct object here.
Here is a list of verbs that usually (not always) take two objects:
ask
book
bring
build
buy
cook
cost
find
get
give
lend
make
owe
pass
sell
send
show
teach
tell
throw
write
Examples:
My daughter wrote her twin sister a poem.
Can you please pass me the salt?
You owe everyone here 10 bucks.
I sold her my bike.
Our realtor found us a great apartment.
Look at this image and try to complete the test. Keep scrolling for the answers.
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Level B1
We can also put the indirect object after the direct object, but we need to add the preposition “to” or “for.”
- Jim built a shelf for his wife.
(This is the same as saying: Jim built his wife a shelf.) - Heather bought curtains for Cynthia.
(Heather bought Cynthia curtains.) - Carl sent an email to the secretary.
- I booked a hotel room for my parents.
- Max threw a red ball to Jessica.
- My entire class sang “Happy Birthday” to Judy.
Indirect objects are normally a person (because they receive the direct object), but they don’t have to be:
The mechanic gave the car new tires. OR The mechanic gave new tires to the car.
In some grammar books, these indirect objects that come after a preposition can be called “objects of the preposition” or “prepositional complements.” However, whatever you choose to call them, they still receive the direct object which is the function of an indirect object.
Some verbs are not as flexible as the ones you’ve seen above.
For example, the verb “ask” is always followed by its indirect object (if there is one).
✅A policeman was asking me questions.
A policeman was asking questions to me.
✅You can ask the teacher anything.
You can ask anything to the teacher.
There must be a transitive verb if you want a direct object. Transitive verbs must have an object.
I cannot say “I make.”
What do you make?
“I make pancakes every Sunday.”
My direct object “pancakes” makes my sentence complete.
examples of transitive verbs:
make
read
build
bring
send
book
ask
throw
sing
Some verbs do not need an object. We call these “intransitive verbs.”
examples of intransitive verbs:
sleep
laugh
cry
run
swim
walk
sit
jump
talk
die
✅I laughed.
✅She cried.
✅We swam.
You can see that intransitive verbs can make a sentence complete without an object.
Some verbs can be both transitive AND intransitive. A good dictionary will mark verbs with a “T,” “I,” or both.
It’s important to know when a verb is transitive or intransitive because you will not find an object with an intransitive verb. Take a look at this sentence:
I worked all day with my brother and then ran for a couple of miles in the park.
This is kind of a long sentence, but because “work” and “ran” are intransitive, there are no objects.
Don’t look for something that’s not there.
Can you match each sentence into the category it belongs to? Scroll down for the answers.
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Level B2
Now you know that only transitive verbs can have an object. This means, you can only form the passive voice with transitive verbs. Let’s try to identify direct and indirect objects in the passive voice.
active voice: Two thieves stole a diamond from a museum.
passive voice: A diamond was stolen from a museum (by two thieves).
You can see that my direct object has become the subject. It is the subject of the sentence, but it is still the direct object of the verb “steal.”
You can add the agent “by two thieves,” but that is optional.
active voice: Zookeepers feed the animals in the zoo twice a day.
passive voice: The animals in the zoo are fed twice a day (by zookeepers). OR The animals in the zoo are fed by zookeepers twice a day.
You can see that my direct object has become the subject.
active voice: Hailey gave me a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.
We can make the direct object the subject:
A recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies was given to me (by Hailey).
We can make the indirect object the subject:
I was given a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies.
active voice: Randy gave Bob the key to his office.
We can make the direct object the subject:
The key to Randy’s office was given to Bob.
We can make the indirect object the subject:
Bob was given the key to Randy’s office.
You can see that finding objects in a passive sentence is a bit more complicated.
If you need help with the passive voice, you can watch my lesson on my YouTube channel.
Linking Verbs
I am your father.
“I” and “ your father” are the same person.
You are a student.
“You” and “a student” are the same person.
She became a teacher.
“She” and “a teacher” are the same thing.
The highlighted verbs are called “linking verbs.” Linking verbs link the subject to its complement. A complement describes the subject.
Linking verbs are followed by nouns or adjectives.
LINKING VERBS
*There is a short list of linking verbs in English. I may be missing a couple of linking verbs in the list below, but these are the most common.
“Be” forms
am
are
is
was
were
been
Sense Verbs
sound
look
taste
feel
smell
Other
become
seem
appear
stay
remain
go (as in “become”)
get (as in “become”)
Examples:
You look beautiful.
This kitchen smells wonderful.
Tyler seems distracted today.
I will remain president of this company.
He went crazy when he heard the news.
Why are linking verbs important in this lesson?
Linking verbs are followed by subject complements. Do not look for an object if you see a linking verb.
Look at this image and try to complete the test. Scroll down for the answers.
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C1 Level
Direct and indirect objects can be formed in many different ways.
A noun: I finished my essay an hour before the deadline.
A gerund: I have always liked swimming in the lake near my house.
An infinitive: I need to go home before my parents start to worry about me.
A noun clause: You can buy whatever dress you like for the party.
A noun clause: My boss tells whomever will listen his life story. (indirect object)
It doesn’t matter how complex a sentence looks, objects can be found with a bit of detective work as long as you remember that intransitive verbs and linking verbs do not take objects.
The C1 test in my lesson is made up entirely of video clips. You can watch the video at 20:56 to take that test. ⇓
video: DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS
