Direct and Indirect object: what you really need to know

So far, you haven't had the need to know what are exactly direct and indirect object and you have been just fine. I understand. When you are learning to speak English that doesn't seem quite important. However, if you are studying English to get a degree or just deepening into learning the language you must understand this matter. In this article, I will explain the main differences between direct and indirect object and why it is so important to know.

Direct object

First, it is useful to know that some verbs, which are called transitive verbs, need a word to complete their meaning. This word is called a direct object. For example, if I say: 

I spent time with my family.

The verb spend as you see needs the word time or any other word that answers the question "what". Now, I will state the same sentence without the direct object so you see that it wouldn't make sense:

I spent with my family. You spend what? time? money? your summer vacations? a whole weekend? Oh please, tell me!!!

Any word that you use to answer the question what in this case is called direct object.Keep in mind that there are other verbs that don't need an object to complete their meaning. Those verbs are called intransitive verbs. For example, smile.

If you smile, people think you're happy. Does the verb smile need an object to complete its meaning? No! You smile and that's it! Do you need to ask: smile what? Nope. 

Now, look at these sentences and see whenever they need a direct object.

1. I bought yesterday. You bought what? books? five eggs? a great deep conditioner?2. My friends and I have. You have what? a pool party? a lot of things in common?

Indirect object

Before we move forward, there's something I need to tell you and you must always remember:

1. There's NO indirect object without a direct object.2. If a sentence has an indirect object, it will be placed always right after the verb.

Keep reading to see why.

An indirect object is the person, animal, thing, idea, etc., that gets the benefit from the action performed. It answers the question "for whom" or "to whom". For example, let's say you bought some books. You are not stating for whom or to whom you bought them. You're only answering WHAT. 

Now, if you bought those books for your little sister, the sentence would be stated as follows:I bought my little sister some books.

Other examples:

My teacher told us to study hard for the test. My teacher told whom? us (indirect object). Ok, told us what? to study (direct object).

I am buying myself a treat.I am buying whom? myself (indirect object). Ok, buying yourself what? a treat (direct object).

Now, pay attetion to this:

I bought some books for my little sister.

This sentence is totally correct, but it doesn't have an indirect object. Why? Do you remember what I wrote above in  blue highlight? If a sentence has an indirect object, it will be placed always right after the verb. 

You may think "my little sister" is the indirect object. Notice that it is not placed after the verb but after the preposition "for". That now makes "my little sister" the object of the preposition.

So, :

I bought my little sister some books. Correctverb+ indirect object + direct object

I bought some books for my little sister. Correctverb + direct object + prepositional phrase

I bought for my little sister. Incorrect. Transitive verb without a direct object.bought what?

I hope you had learn a little bit in this article. If you want to keep updated about other topics subscribe to my blog with your email or stay tuned through my instagram @interpre.tales

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How English changed my life

A degree in English was not what I first started to persue when I started college. I had different plans and a blurred vision of what I wanted to do with my life.

I started college when I was almost 18. I was thinking about majoring in Spanish, which is my native language, however I found it to be easy, and in my poor opinion, I thought anybody could graduate on that (yeah, I know, shame on me!), so, instead, I decided to enroll in what I thought would be "a more demanding major": Statistics.

I started to take as many subjects as I could. I took about three different Economics classes, Theory of Probabilities, Algebra, and many others, and even though I got good grades on all of them, I still thought I wasn't really feeling it or picturing myself working on that field.

I started to think about changing to another major, but still wasn't sure where I really belonged. So I had the feeling of being kind of trapped. On one hand, I had been on college for 2 years or so already, and I didn't want to throw all that time and money down the drain. On the other hand, I had to start from scratch, while explaing all relatives the reasons of my "drastic change" over and over on every get-together, aside of the self shame and regret for not taking the right desicion. I was trapped in a limbo of "what if".

But miraculously, something really great happened to me. I was informed I was given a scholarship to go to a SUNY college in the United States to master my English skills, since I studied in the public English program the year before and I happened to be one of the top of the class, along with 53 or so other students around the country.

I stayed in the U.S.A. for about one month and a half and honestly it has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I learned a lot and traveled to many places there. But above all else, I met this smart, funny and beautiful professor who showed me that being an English teacher is not so simple and not anyone can nail it. I fell in love with the idea of becoming a certified teacher of the English language.

When I came back to the country, Dominican Republic, I changed my major. Ever since, I have been studying Modern Languages, minor in English. I am heading to my sixth semester and I couldn't be happier. I have taken some training on teaching and I will begin tutoring in a few days. I'm excited and nervous at the same time.

Honestly I am happy with my decision but I wish I had done it sooner. But I know everything happens for a reason and I think if you're constantly studying and having experiences that get you more knowledge, it is not a waste of time, even if you change the major you're studying.

I advice you to conquer the fear and do what really makes you happy, even if you think it will take you long.

Remember: It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.