Glossary
indirect object
An indirect object is the noun or pronoun that receives the direct object — the "to whom?" or "for whom?" — and it appears only when a direct object is already there.
An indirect object is the person or thing a direct object is given, sent, shown, told or done for. It answers to whom?, for whom?, to what? or for what?: in the nurse handed the aide the chart, the direct object is the chart and the aide is who received it.
Two conditions decide whether a noun is an indirect object, and both must hold. A direct object must be present, because nothing can be given to someone without something being given. No preposition may stand in front of it, because the moment one does, the noun belongs to a prepositional phrase: the nurse handed the chart to the aide has the aide as the object of to, not as an indirect object. The same words, one preposition, two different analyses.
Only some verbs take the pattern: give, hand, send, tell, show, lend, offer, bring, buy, teach, write. Verbs outside that list — explain, describe, suggest, donate — usually need the prepositional form instead: explain the plan to the family, never explain the family the plan.
Taught in
Related terms
- direct object — A direct object is the noun or pronoun that receives an action verb — the answer to "what?" or "whom?" after the verb.
- predicate nominative — A predicate nominative is a noun or pronoun after a linking verb that renames the subject, as in "Ms. Okafor is the charge nurse".
Source: The grammar guide in this course, whose conventions follow the US Government Publishing Office's Style Manual for standard written American English, with standard grammar references for agreement, case, tense and sentence structure. The GPO manual is US federal government material, not subject to copyright in the United States. Every definition and example above was written for this course; no reference text is reproduced. (GPO Style Manual accessed 2026-10-27; definitions written 2026-10-27)