Direct and Indirect Objects: Pair with Verbs

What are Direct and Indirect Objects?

Also called verb complements, direct and indirect objects complete the meaning of an action word. “Lyn cried” is a complete sentence but “Lyn gave” is not. It makes you ask: Lyn gave what? or whom? Insert an object to make the sentence complete: “Lyn gave a pen”. Here, pen is a direct object. If we add another noun or pronoun in between the verb and the direct object, we’ll have an indirect object: “Lyn gave her a pen.” The indirect object her tells to whom Lyn gave a pen. 

What is a Direct Object?

The direct object is the receiver of the action expressed by the verb. It answers the questions What? or Whom? Remember that a direct object follows after the verb it complements.

Here are examples of sentences with direct objects (in bold) and the verbs complemented (italicized).

• She always brings an umbrella to work.
  [The direct object answers what she brings.]
• Kaye met him at the festival.
  [The direct object answers whom Kaye met.]

NOTE: Phrases and clauses can be direct objects.

• Liza loved her cat.
  [The direct object answers what Liza loved.]
• He likes baking strawberry cakes.
  [The direct object answers what he likes.]
• Can you call Amy?
  [The direct object is answers whom to call.]

A sentence can have multiple direct objects for different verbs.

• Hillary started her music career when her father gave his approval.
• The chef created a new recipe for the special guests, but they didn’t like it.
• She had to study Van Gogh and Da Vinci because she was taking arts classes.

What is an Indirect Object?

The indirect object tells to whom or what or for whom or what the action of the verb is done. The indirect object always comes in between the verb and the direct object. 

Here are a few examples of indirect objects (in bold) and direct objects (italicized).

• Sam made Sophie a doll house. 
  [Sophie is the indirect object because it tells for whom the doll house is made. To expound, the subject Sam is the doer of the verb made whose direct object is a doll house (Ask: Sam built what? A doll house) and indirect object is Sophie (Ask: Sam made a doll house for whom? Sophie).]

• Father gave our neighbors the empty baskets from the garage.
  [To whom did father give the empty baskets? Our neighbors.] 

• The manager left the employees a memo.
  [To whom did the manager leave a memo? The employees.]

NOTE: Indirect objects are not always present in a sentence that has a direct object. A sentence can keep its meaning without the indirect object. Take the first example above. 

• Sam made Sophie a doll house.
  [The indirect object Sam was removed, showing the direct object a doll house is enough to complete the verb made.]

Practice Identifying Direct and Indirect Objects:

Identify the verb and its direct and indirect objects in each sentence. Make a list of the verb and its direct and indirect objects. Use DO to refer to the direct object and IO for indirect object. Some of the sentences have more than one verb and object.

EXAMPLE:
Hope left her Aunt a letter.
Verb: Left; IO: her Aunt; DO: a letter

Exercise:

1. Emily gave Ross a plane ticket so he can leave New York.
2. Clarke bakes Bellamy his favorite cake.  
3. Finn took Raven for a spacewalk and gave her a necklace.
4. Are we buying Jen a gift?
5. Jaha caused them trouble when he brought Allie home.

Answers:

1. Emily gave Ross a plane ticket so he can leave New York.
   Verb: gave; IO: Ross; DO: a plane ticket
   Verb: leave; DO: New York

2. Clarke bakes Bellamy his favorite cake.  
   Verb: bakes; IO: Bellamy; DO: his favorite cake

3. Finn took Raven for a spacewalk and gave her a necklace.
   Verb: took; IO: Raven
   Verb: gave; IO: her; DO: a necklace

4. Are we buying Jen a gift?
   Verb: buying; IO: Jen; DO: a gift

5. Jaha caused them trouble when he brought Allie home.
   Verb: caused; IO: them; DO: trouble
   Verb: brought; DO: Allie

Transitive Verbs Require an Object, Intransitive Verbs Do Not Need Direct and Indirect Objects

In the above examples, notice that direct and indirect objects only complete transitive verbs – verbs that require an object. In the sentence “Lyn gave a pen,” the verb is transitive because it needs an object to be complete. However, there are also verbs that do not require an object – they are called intransitive verbs. The verb in “Lyn cried” is intransitive – it doesn’t need an indirect or direct object to be complete.

Here are examples of sentences with intransitive verbs.

• Marshall won.
• Lily slept all day.
• Ally already left when Jan arrived.

NOTE: Most intransitive verbs can become transitive if we add a direct object. 

• Marshall won the slap bet. [What did Marshall win? The slap bet.]
• Ally left Jan a card. [What did Ally leave? A card (direct object). To whom did Ally leave a card? Jan (indirect object).]

Seeing how intransitive verbs can transform into transitive verbs, we know that they’re not impossible to mix with direct and indirect objects. But, there’s one type of verb that does not combine with indirect and direct objects at all – a linking verb. A linking verb connects the subject to a word in the predicate. Because linking verbs do not express an action, they also don’t require a direct or indirect object. 

Want to learn more about linking verbs?
Related Reading: Linking Verbs – Connect Subject to Predicate

Thank you for reading. We hope it’s effective! Always feel free to revisit this page if you ever have any questions about direct and indirect objects.

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