indirect object

American  

noun

1. a word or group of words representing the person or thing with reference to which the action of a verb is performed, in English generally coming between the verb and the direct object and paraphrasable as the object of a preposition, usually to or for, following the direct object, as the boy in He gave the boy a book.

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indirect object British  

noun

1. grammar a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase indicating the recipient or beneficiary of the action of a verb and its direct object, as John in the sentence I bought John a newspaper Compare direct object

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indirect object Cultural  

1. A noun, pronoun, or group of words naming something indirectly affected by the action of a verb: “She showed me some carpet samples”; “The agent handed the Prentice family their tickets.”

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Discover More

Indirect objects can often take or suggest the preposition to. For example, “He showed (to) me the book.”

Etymology

Origin of indirect object

First recorded in 1875–80

Compare meaning

How does indirect-object compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• direct object vs. indirect object

Example Sentences

Its word order goes: subject, verb, direct object, indirect object.

From Time Magazine Archive

The pronominal particles we have called article pronouns; they serve to point out a variety of characteristics in the subject, object, and indirect object of the verb.

From On the Evolution of Language First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 1-16 by Powell, John Wesley

To exhibit or present to vjew; to place in sight; to display; -- the thing exhibited being the object, and often with an indirect object denoting the person or thing seeing or beholding; 2.

From The first New Testament printed in English by

NOTE.—It is to be borne in mind that these verbs do not take the Dative by virtue of their apparent English equivalence, but simply because they are intransitive, and adapted to an indirect object.

From New Latin Grammar by Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)

The attribute complement, whether noun or adjective, follows the verb, the objective complement follows the object complement, and the indirect object precedes the direct.

From Higher Lessons in English A work on English grammar and composition by Kellogg, Brainerd