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Indirect Objects in English (Meaning & Examples)

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Indirect Objects in English

Indirect Objects in English

In English Grammar, there are two kinds of objects which are Direct and Indirect objects.  In this article, let’s understand the Indirect object in the sentence. 

The indirect object of a sentence is the recipient of the direct object. So basically, the indirect object can be related to the receiver of the direct object. 

 Example.  
He told me a secret. 

Here, the direct object is “secret” and it is “me” who was told a secret, so it is I, i.e., “me” is the recipient. 
So, there might be confusion between Indirect and Direct objects as both are closely related. This article will give you complete information about the Indirect objects with plenty of examples to make you clear everything about it.

What Is an Indirect Object?

To understand an Indirect object lets us first understand what is Direct object. So, The Direct object is the main thing in the sentence that is being acted upon.  

Example. Ram threw the ball. Here “ball” is the direct object as it is being acted upon, it is being thrown by Ram. 
However, the indirect object is the recipient of the direct object. 

Example.  Ram threw me a ball. Here, “Ball” is the direct object as it is acted upon, it is being thrown, but it is being thrown to whom? To me, thus “me” became the indirect object. 
The thing that gets the direct object. 

Indirect Object Examples 

I asked him a question.                                  IO: HIM, DO: Question
Kabir gave Tulsi a lesson:                               IO: Tulsi, DO: Lesson
She owes me an apology.                              IO: me. DO: Apology
You are a singer, please sing us a song.         IO: Us. DO: Song 

Don’t tell children the ghost story.                 IO: Children. DO: A ghost story

How to find an Indirect Object 

Whenever there are both direct and indirect objects in a sentence, and if you want to find out the Indirect object in a sentence, simply ask “who” the direct object is passed on to or “who is the recipient”. 
Ravi passed her the phone.
Here, who is the recipient of the direct object “phone”? It is “her”, thus “Her” is the indirect object. 
Note: Indirect objects are placed right after the verb and before the direct thing.
I passed him the parcel. 
This is to be kept in mind that indirect objects are not the object of prepositions. 
Example.  I proposed a plan to him. 
Here, “him” is not an indirect object but an object of the preposition, though here, the object of a preposition also answers “who”, but its placement is what makes the difference. So always remember indirect objects are placed right after the verb and before the direct object.

Indirect Object Pronouns

When it comes to pronouns, there are different kinds of pronouns available like subjective pronouns and objective pronouns. 
Subjective pronouns: I, You, He/She/It, We, They
Objective Pronouns: Me, you, Him/Her/It, Us, Them
 Indirect object always takes objective pronouns. 
For example, Prabhat gave Ridhi a book. 
Here “Prabhat” is a subjective noun, and “Ridhi” is an objective Noun. And, now if we have to replace it with Pronouns then for “Prabhat” the pronoun “he” should be used assuming him male. And considering “Ridhi” female, we must use “her” instead of “she” as “Ridhi” is at an Indirect object location, and if at this place a pronoun has to be used then it should be an objective pronoun and thus, “Her” should be used. 
The statement after replacing it with pronouns will be: He gave her a book. 

Note: If the subject and the indirect object are the same, use a reflexive pronoun in place of the Indirect object.
I asked him what you want to become. => indirect object is “him” which is another person. 
I asked myself what I want to become. => here the indirect object is “me” which is the same person.  
 

Indirect Object Phrases

So far, we have seen an Indirect object as a single word only, but an Indirect object can be both a noun and a noun phrase. 
I granted him some money. 
Here “him” is the Indirect object. 
 But let’s see this example
The bank granted a real-estate NRI businessman a 5000cr loan. 
Here, “real-estate NRI Businessman” is a noun phrase and this entire noun phrase is the indirect object. 
Indirect Objects vs. direct objects H2

In a sentence, Indirect objects and direct objects are placed next to each other and are also very similar. But if they looked carefully, it is not very difficult to tell the difference. 

We know that indirect objects should be placed just after a verb and directly before direct objects. But the vice versa is not true.  This means direct object does not need indirect objects. Suppose after a direct object an indirect object has to be written. In that case, it cannot be written directly after the direct object but after a preposition and the object will become the object of the preposition instead of being called an indirect object. 

I gave a pen him => incorrect.
I gave a pen to him. 
Here “him” is not an indirect object but the object of the preposition. And This sentence has only one direct object which is “pen”. 
Thus, if in a sentence, there is only one object be it direct or indirect. It will always be considered a direct object. 
I gave him
I gave a pen.The direct

In both the above examples “him” and “pen” are direct objects as they are the only objects in the sentence. 
If there are two objects in the sentence, the object which is receiving the action of the verb is the Direct object and the object which is receiving the other object is the Indirect object.

Indirect Objects vs. Direct objects

Indirect Object

Direct Object

The indirect object of a sentence is the recipient of the direct object.  The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon
Indirect objects can be found by finding who is the recipient.  Direct object can be found by asking “What” or “Whom”
Indirect objects should be placed just after a verb and directly before direct objects.  Directly objects should be placed just after a verb. 
E.g., Prashant gave his wife credit for his hard work.  E.g, Pooja will bring her niece home tomorrow. 

Indirect Objects Quiz/Exercises

Que 1. True/False? The direct object is the recipient.
 

A. True
B. False
 

Que 2. Which object can be identified by this technique of asking who or what has received the object?
 

A. Indirect object
B. Direct object
 

Que3. Select the Indirect object in the given sentence. 
 

She generally gave herself very good advice.
A. Gave B. Herself C. Advice
 

Que4. Select the sentence with the Indirect object.
 

A. I permitted him
B. The contract is given to Mr Nanda. 
C. Don’t ask me, I will tell you nothing. 
 

Que5. True or False? “Drink” is the indirect object of “Gave”.

Daniel unscrewed the cap of his water bottle and gave her a drink.

A. True
B. False

Quiz Answers
1.B,  2.A,  3.B,  4.C,  5.A
 

FAQ’s 

Que 1. What is an indirect object

Ans. An indirect object is an object of the transitive verb which indicates who receives the action as a result or who is the receiver of the action.

Que 2. What is the difference between a direct object and an indirect object?

Ans. A direct object is the one on which action is done and an Indirect object is the one that receives the result of the action.

Que 3. What are indirect object examples?

Ans. She gave him her address. 
Here Indirect object is: HER
The Direct object is: Address.
I asked Radha a question.

 



Last Updated : 20 Mar, 2023
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