Direct Objects and Indirect Objects at
GrammarSongs by Melissa. This video builds upon the concepts and skills
addressed in Identifying Direct Objects/ You have learned that the relationship
between nouns and verbs provides for the interaction of the subjects, settings, and
objects we use when we speak and when we write. You have also learned that direct
objects are the nouns, proper nouns, or pronouns that receive the action of the
verb in the sentence. In the sentence the football player kicked the ball, the
football player is the subject. A football player is a noun.
"Kicked" is the action that the football player is performing. "Kicked" is the verb.
"Ball" is another noun in the sentence, but it isn't the subject. Since it is
receiving the action of the verb "kicked" it is known as the direct object. Finding
the direct object is usually easy since it often follows the verb in the
sentence, but sometimes an indirect object can make things a little tricky.
Did you say indirect object? What's that? This sounds like another job for
Superman! Thank you, Superman, but you have other
things to do. I think I can take it from here.
Indirect objects are nouns, proper nouns, or pronouns that are not the subjects or
direct objects of sentences. They are affected by the verb, but not directly.
Then how will we ever find them? Hey Superman, come back! Relax. I promise this
will all make sense. When a sentence has an indirect object, and not many
sentences do, you can always find it in between the verb and the direct object.
So if I wrote the sentence, "Deborah baked George a cake," Deborah is my subject. She
is a proper noun. "Baked" is the verb that shows the action that Deborah performed.
And since we're pretty sure Deborah didn't bake George, we know that George
is not the direct object. "Cake" is the direct object because it directly
received the action of the verb "baked." So George is
the indirect object. George is affected by the action of
Deborah's baking of the cake, but not directly. Thank goodness! Could we practice
some more? Sure we can! We will follow these steps
and look for clues. The waitress brought Mr. Smith some
coffee. First we need to find the subject. Who or what is this sentence about? Hmm....
Well, this sentence is about the waitress. She's my subject. She's a person. Waitress
is a noun. Next, we need to find the verb. Do you see a word that shows action? What
did the waitress do? Hmm..... "Brought" the waitress "brought." "Brought" is a verb, Next,
we need to find the direct object. We need to find the noun, proper noun, or
pronoun that received the action. We need to ask ourselves, The waitress brought
what? What did the waitress bring?" Hmm..... Well, since we're pretty sure the
waitress didn't bring Mr. Smith, we know that Mr. Smith is not the direct object.
"Coffee" is the direct object because the coffee directly received the action of
being brought. So Mr. Smith is the indirect object. Mr. Smith is affected by
the action of the bringing of the coffee but not directly. Thank goodness!
That was fun! Let's do it again! Okay, let's do it again! The boy threw the dog
a ball. First, we need to find the subject Who or what is the sentence about? Hmm...
Well, this sentence is about the boy. He's my subject. A boy is a person. He's a
noun. Next, we need to find the verb. Do you see
a word that shows action? What did the boy do? "Threw!" The boy threw. "Threw" is a
verb. Next, we need to find the direct object. We need to find the noun, proper
noun, or pronoun receiving the action. We need to ask ourselves, The boy threw
what? What did the boy throw? Well I'm pretty certain the boy didn't throw the
dog, so the dog is not the direct object. "Ball" is the direct object because the
ball directly received the action of the throwing. So the dog is the indirect
object. The dog is affected by the action of the throwing, but not directly! Ruff! So
remember, indirect objects are nouns, proper nouns, or pronouns that are not
the subjects or direct objects of sentences. They are affected by the verb,
but not directly. And, when a sentence has an indirect object, and not many
sentences do, you can always find it in between the verb and the direct object.
Hooray! You've done a fantastic job learning
about direct and indirect objects! Thank you for joining me at GrammarSongs by
Melissa.
