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Direct & Indirect Objects

Ndyana Swainston
Feb 28, 2025
1 min read

1.1 There are verbs that can take two objects: a direct object and an indirect object. These verbs are: give, tell, pass, send, show. The indirect object typically comes before the direct object when both are used together in a sentence.

Compare:

She gave me a gift.

BUT! She gave a gift to me.

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.

An indirect object is a noun or pronoun that receives the direct object.

Verb + indirect object + direct object

	Verb	Indirect object	Direct object
She	told	us	the story
She	showed	him	a way
Could you	pass	me	the salt?
They	sent	me	an invitation

Verb + direct object + indirect object

	Verb	Direct object	To	Indirect object
She	told	the story	to	us
She	showed	a way	to	him
Could you	pass	the salt	to	me?
They	sent	an invitation	to	me

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