Indirect Object Example

The indirect object, also known as the indirect object, It is the part of the sentence that complements the verb by indicating to whom the action expressed in the verb is directed; who is the recipient, beneficiary, receiver or affected by said action. Sentences in Spanish are made up of a subject (he is the one who does something; can be a person, an animal, an object or an idea or concept), a verb (the action that the subject) and different complements that serve to add information or complete the idea that you want express. One of these plugins is the indirect object, which can appear alongside other plugins, such as the direct object or complement, the time complement, the place complement, and so on.

However, not in all sentences we can find an indirect object.

How to find the direct object?

To know if a part of the sentence is an indirect object, it must answer the following questions:

• To what + verb?
• Who + verb?
• To whom + verb?

We will explain in detail with a few sentences:

• Victory teaches (verb) to his friends(indirect object) to cook.

In this sentence the phrase "to her friends" is the beneficiary or recipient of the action expressed by the verb (to teach). This indirect object answers the question “¿¿Who does he teach to cook? ”:“ to her friends ”.

• The doctor it gave (verb) medicines to your patients (indirect object).

In this sentence the phrase "to his patients" is the recipient of the action carried out by the subject (give). This indirect object answers the question “¿¿Whose give it medicines? ”:“ to your patients ”.

• Ariel carry (verb) the errand to his mom (indirect object).

In this sentence, the phrase "to your mother" is the recipient of the action expressed by the verb (to carry). This indirect object answers the question “¿¿Who does it take the errand? ”:“ to his mother ”.

• Me I (indirect object) gave (verb) a blow upon entering the room.

In this sentence the pronoun "me" is the recipient of the action performed by the subject (hitting). This indirect object answers the question “¿¿To whom i gave a hit?". The answer is contained in the pronoun I (to me).

• The musician you (indirect object) composed (verb) a song.

In this sentence the pronoun "you" is the beneficiary or receiver of the action expressed by the verb (compose). This indirect object answers the question “¿¿Who composed a song?". The answer is found in the pronoun you (to him / her).

Sometimes the indirect object is mistakenly considered to also answer the question: for what or for whom? Namely, it is mistakenly thought that the preposition in order to also serves to introduce an indirect object. Although it can have a similar function, since it can also indicate who is the recipient of an action (for example, in the sentence: “I bought a gift for my mother"), the preposition in order to  it is not considered indirect object since it does not always work this way. For example, you can also indicate the purpose for which the action is performed: “I bought this book to study it"," The children went to the park to have fun”. That is why the segment of the sentence that begins with in order to it is considered a circumstantial complement.

How is the complement or indirect object formed?

The complement or indirect object can be formed in two different ways:

1. Indirect object formed by unstressed personal pronouns me, you, him, them, us.

Each of these pronouns indicates who is the recipient of the action. Each pronoun corresponds to a specific subject (I, you, he, we, you, they), as shown in the following table.

Me	Corresponds to the pronoun I: to me
Your	Corresponds to the pronoun tea: to you
He she	Corresponds to the pronoun you: to him / her
U.S	Corresponds to the pronoun us: U.S
you guys	Corresponds to the pronoun them: to you
They	Corresponds to the pronoun them: to them

The pronoun you and its plural them they are always indirect objects; in the other cases it depends on the sentence. To be indirect objects, they must refer to the recipient of the action.

Let's look at some examples of sentences in which the indirect object is made up of these pronouns:

1. Tea I brought this book. (Who did I bring?)
2. I I bought a blouse. (Who did I buy from?)
3. Them they took pictures. (Who did they take?)
4. You I sold a record. (Who did I sell to?)
5. Us they gave away tickets to the concert. (Who did they give away to?)

2. Indirect object formed by a prepositional phrase whose nucleus is the preposition to

In this case the indirect object is composed of a prepositional phrase that begins with the preposition to. A phrase is a word or a series of words that have a function within the sentence. The core or central part of a phrase can be different kinds of words, such as nouns (noun phrases), adjectives (adjective phrases), prepositions (prepositional phrases), etc.

When a prepositional phrase (formed by a preposition) whose nucleus is the preposition to It is an indirect object that corresponds to the recipient, beneficiary or affected party of the action expressed by the verb. The preposition to It serves to introduce the indirect object, to indicate this relationship that is established with the verb.

Let's see some examples:

• I delivered (verb) the correspondence To my neighbor (indirect object).

The indirect object answers the question: "To whom did I deliver?"

• I served (verb) drinks to the guests (indirect object).

The indirect object answers the question: "Who did I serve?"

• The boyfriend singing (verb) a song to the girlfriend (indirect object).

The indirect object answers the question: "Who did she sing to?"

• The coach got angry and scream (verb) many things to the gymnasts (indirect object).

The indirect object answers the question: "Who did he yell at?"

These indirect objects that refer to the subjects he, she, they, they can be replaced by the preposition you (referring to him and her) or its plural them(that refers to them and them):

• I delivered the correspondence To my neighbor.

You I delivered the correspondence.

• I served drinks to the guests.

Them I served drinks.

• The groom sang a song to the girlfriend.

The boyfriend you He sang a song.

• The coach got angry and yelled a lot of things to the gymnasts.

Coach them screamed many things.

It is important to clarify that although the preposition appears in a sentence to, this is not always going to accompany an indirect object.It may also appear to input a direct object in certain cases. That is why it is important to pay attention to what function this part of the sentence has. Unlike the indirect object, which is the recipient or beneficiary of the action, the direct object is the one that completes the idea of ​​the verb. It is the part of the sentence on which the action falls directly. There are certain verbs, transitive verbs, that need a direct object to finish expressing the idea. That is why the direct object answers the question "what + verb?". For example, the verb attend. In the sentence "The doctor attended to his patients", the verb attend it needs to be complemented with a direct object: what did the doctor attend to?

To differentiate them more easily, we can replace the prepositional phrase with its corresponding pronoun. When is direct object can be substitutedforlo, los, la, las. When is indirect object can be substituted for him or them.

Let's see some examples in which the difference between prepositional phrases with to that function as an indirect object and those that function as a direct object:

Indirect object formed by prepositional phrase with to

* It is the recipient or recipient of the action.

* Answers the question: to whom, to whom + verb? To what + verb?

* Replaced by: le, les.

• Last night I looked for some songs to a friend.

Substitution: Last night you I looked for some songs.

• I found them a hotel to the tourists.

Substitution: Them I found a hotel

• I painted the walls to my room.

Substitution: You I painted the walls.

Direct object formed by prepositional phrase with to

* Complete the idea of ​​the verb. The action falls directly on him.

* Answer the question: what + verb?

* Replaced by: lo, la, los, las.

• Last night we searched the teacher to ask you something.

Substitution: Last night it we are looking to ask you something.

• I found to the dog  under the bed.

Substitution: It found under the bed.

• I painted the girl as a princess.

Substitution: The I painted as a princess.

Double indirect object

Indirect objects can appear double in a sentence; that is, the two forms in which an indirect object appears can appear at the same time: a sentence can contain both the pronoun that works as an indirect object (me, te, le, les, nos) and the prepositional phrase with to.

Let's see some examples:

1. Martina you gift to her friend  a beautiful doll.
2. Diego you She read a book to her.
3. Them she liked the milk to the cats.
4. I I gave away a shirt to me.
5. Tea I told the truth to you.
6. The institution us awarded a scholarship U.S.
7. Them I proposed to my colleagues a new project.
8. The academy you she awarded the award to a Venezuelan writer.
9. To me many exam questions had to be answered.
10. You they delivered the results of the medical examinations.

•  Continue with: Direct object.

70 Examples of Sentences with Indirect Objects

1. Your cousins you  they brought a doll to Elvira.
2. Juan them brought magazines to all his cousins.
3. The designer them made different outfits to his clients.
4. The cat jumped to the table.
5. You we had a party to my sister.
6. The boy you He is afraid  to the babysitter.
7. You I took out their plates to the car.
8. The little dog took a bite to the girl.
9. We hand out wedding invitations to all family and friends.
10. Ana them sew the clothes to your neighbors.
11. We buy the screws to the corner vendor.
12. You i made a gift to my friend.
13. After much searching, them I found a present to them.
14. Mariana is afraid to the ghosts.
15. The artist dedicated a song  to those present.
16. Solicitous to youPlease listen to me.
17. I I bought a perfume for my birthday.
18. I added sugar to the insipid drink.
19. I spent a lot of time to math homework.
20. I wrote a few words to my friends.
21. Juan took a trip to her aunt.
22. Peter I He showed her stamp collection.
23. Workers you sweep the litter to the building.
24. Them suit tools to the mechanics.
25. The school applied a new test to the students.
26. The program was boring to the audience.
27. I bought the order to Elvira.
28. We cook a cake to the kids.
29. I took a picture of him to the clockfrom my grandmother.
30. The girl handed over the flowers to the girlfriend.
31. You I bought a new battery  on the phone.
32. My brother made invitations to your friends to go to dinner.
33. Roberto wrote a story to the kids.
34. The carpenter put the screws to the furniture.
35. Many authors made songs to their mothers.
36. The dancer showed her skills to the guests.
37. The president released a statement to the citizens.
38. Angel you repaired the phone to his friend Genaro.
39. My cousin wore some clothes to Rosita for me to repair.
40. Electrical failure you broke all the appliances to the family.
41. Them they gave a puppy to my cousins.
42. I i will cook a cake to me.
43. In the past week tea I delivered the signed reports.
44. I wrote a letter to my grandparents.
45. To youtea I gave away some of my books; to her, some of my records.
46. You i won the bet to Miguel.
47. Croquettes suit to pets.
48. Judge you he handed down a sentence of five years to the car thief.
49. You they did a pop quiz to the students.
50. My sister I took dinner to my room.
51. The bosses us assigned the new offices U.S.
52. The painters explained their work to those who attended the gallery.
53. You I told something you must keep secret.
54. Them I described the story to the kids.
55. You I searched to my mom the keys that he lost.
56. I hit very hard to the door.
57. The plumber repaired the pipes to the neighbours.
58. I ordered a drink to my companion.
59. You I did to my boss the calculations he asked me to do.
60. To me like to eat carrots.
61. The man recited some verses to the crowd.
62. You I drew a flower to give it to him.
63. Tea I answered the question you asked me.
64. To me They assigned a new roommate.
65. You I broke up to my mom new dishes.
66. You I got my shirt dirty to my father.
67. We sold desserts to the people.
68. Us they explained the math problems.
69. They sang songs to the kids.
70. They gave instructions to all.

Keep reading:

• Direct object.