Verb patterns with two objects

Some transitive verbs take two objects – a direct object and an indirect object. In this case, the direct object usually refers to a thing and indirect object refers to a person.

Examples of common verbs that take two objects are: give, take, tell, ask, offer, make, get, sell, buy, and teach.

Two verb patterns are possible.

Indirect object before direct object

Subject Transitive verb Indirect object Direct object
The teacher asked him a question.
The boy bought me some apples.
He told me a story.
She showed me the photo.
I sent him the message.
They offered him a good job.
She gave me her laptop.
I handed him the letter.
I made him  coffee.

 

Direct object before indirect object

In this case, we put the preposition to or for before the indirect object.

Subject Transitive verb Direct object Preposition Indirect object
The teacher asked a question to  him
The boy bought some apples for  me
He told a story to  me
She showed the photo to  me
I sent the message to  him
They offered a good job to  him
She gave her laptop to  me
I handed the letter to  him
I made coffee for  her

 

Manjusha

Hi, I am Manjusha. This is my blog where I give English grammar lessons and worksheets. You may also want to check out my other blogs IELTS Practice and NCERT Guides

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