what is the difference between the Direct Object and the Indirect Object?
The direct object takes the action of the verb. The indirect object takes something else from somewhere else. The best way is by illustrations. "He hit the ball to Sam." The ball was hit, not Sam. The ball took the action--hit--of the verb. Sam got something else--the ball.
She gave the gift to him. The gift was given. The gift took the action of the verb--to give. He got something else, not the action, but the gift itself.
So if you take out the prepositional phrases in the above examples you could just say "He hit Sam the ball" It still should be clear that one is the object of the verb and the other is not.
She gave him the gift. Still again, the gift took the action, right? He took the gift.
The direct object answers "what" or "whom" after the verb.
Examples:
Emily brought cookies to the party.
Ms. S. taught history.
The indirect object tells "to whom" or "to what" after the verb. An indirect object comes between the verb and the direct object.
Examples:
Emily brought the class cookies.
Ms. S. taught us history.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm
The direct object and the indirect object are both grammatical terms used to describe objects in a sentence.
To understand the difference between them, let's break it down:
1. Direct Object:
The direct object is the noun or pronoun that directly receives the action of the verb. It answers the question "whom?" or "what?" after the verb. In simpler terms, it is the thing or person that the action is happening to.
To identify the direct object in a sentence, you can follow these steps:
1. Locate the verb (action word) in the sentence.
2. Ask "verb + whom?" or "verb + what?" and see which noun or pronoun answers the question.
For example, in the sentence "She ate an apple," the verb is "ate" and the direct object is "an apple." By asking "ate what?" we find that "apple" is the direct object receiving the action of eating.
2. Indirect Object:
The indirect object is the noun or pronoun in a sentence that tells us to whom or for whom the action is being done. It usually appears with a direct object and answers the question "to/for whom?" or "to/for what?".
To find the indirect object in a sentence, you can follow these steps:
1. Identify the verb in the sentence.
2. Ask "verb + to/for whom?" or "verb + to/for what?" and see which noun or pronoun answers the question.
3. If there is also a direct object, the indirect object usually comes before it.
For example, in the sentence "He gave his sister a book," the verb is "gave". By asking "gave what?" we find that "book" is the direct object. By asking "gave to whom?" we see that "his sister" is the indirect object, indicating to whom the book was given.
In summary, the direct object answers "whom?" or "what?" after the verb, while the indirect object answers "to/for whom?" or "to/for what?". The direct object receives the action directly, while the indirect object indicates the recipient of the action.