DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS

DIRECT AND INDIRECT OBJECTS

TYPES OF OBJECTS

There are two types of objects: direct and indirect objects:

DIRECT OBJECT

A direct object answers the question "what?" or "whom?"

EXAMPLES:

·         David repaired his car → his car is the direct object of the verb repaired. ( What did David repair?)

·         He invited Mary to the party → Mary is the direct object of the verb invited. (Whom did he invite?)

INDIRECT OBJECT

An indirect object answers the question "to whom?", "for whom?", "for what?"...

An indirect object is the recipient of the direct object, or an otherwise affected participant in the event. There must be a direct object for an indirect object to be placed in a sentence. In other words an indirect object cannot exist without a direct object.

EXAMPLES:

·         They sent him a postcard - him is the indirect object of the verb sent. (To whom did they send a postcard?)

·         He bought his son a bike - his son is the indirect object of the verb bought. (For whom did he buy a bike?)

Direct objects are nouns, pronouns, clauses and phrases. Direct objects follow transitive verbs (action verbs that require something or someone to receive the action). You can identify the direct object by using this simple formula: subject + verb + who? or what? = DIRECT OBJECT.