Direct and indirect objects are important parts of a sentence. This article defines direct and indirect objects and examines some of the key differences between them.
What is an Object?
An object is the part of a sentence that is related to the subject’s action of the verb.
Mrs. Smith crossed the road.
Here, subject = Mrs. Smith, verb = crossed, and object = the road
George went to the party.
Here, subject = George, verb = went, and object = the party
Verbs are words that demonstrate action—climb, catch, eat, make, go, etc. Action verbs can have direct or indirect objects that expand the meaning of the verb.
What are Direct and Indirect Objects?
A direct object is the recipient of the action of the verb. It answers questions like who or what.
Margaret threw the book.
Here, the book is the direct object of the sentence because it receives the action denoted by the verb threw.
An indirect object is the recipient of the action of the direct object. It answers questions like to whom, for whom, to what, and for what.
Margaret threw the book on the floor.
Here, while the book is the direct object of the verb threw, on the floor functions as the indirect object of the verb.
Direct and indirect objects can only occur in sentences with action verbs.
Direct Vs. Indirect Objects
Although the two terms are similar, there are some key differences between them.
Direct objects directly receive the verb’s action, while indirect objects are affected by the direct object.
Rachel tossed the frisbee at Katie.
Here, tossed is the action verb, while the frisbee—the direct recipient of the action—is being tossed. Hence, the frisbee is the direct object of the sentence and answers the question “What was tossed?”
Katie, on the other hand, is not tossed, but she does receive the frisbee that was tossed. Hence, Katie—the indirect object—answers the question “To whom was the frisbee tossed?”
Indirect objects are found only in sentences that contain a direct object. Direct objects can occur in any sentence that has an action verb.
Simon bought his mother a present.
Here, the direct object present is the recipient of the action verb bought, while the indirect object his mother is affected by the direct object. The direct object answers the question “What was bought?” The indirect object answers the question “For whom was the present bought?”
When trying to identify the direct and indirect objects in a sentence, it is important to find the verb first and then ask the questions who, what, to whom, for whom, to what, and for what.
More Examples of Direct and Indirect Objects
Sentences with direct objects (The direct objects are in bold.)
Jessica turned off the radio.
She swallowed the pills.
She drank some water.
Jane hugged her dog.
Sentences with direct and indirect objects (The direct objects are in bold, while the indirect objects have been italicized.)
Alison told Keith the news.
I never sent you any emails.
The instructor assigned a new project to her students.
I always read my son a bedtime story.
Direct and indirect objects are key parts of sentence building. Hopefully, this article shed illumination on the topic and helped you understand it in greater detail.
