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Djb Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Can a direct object become indirect

Hi everyone

New member here and first question. I hope that someone can explain this to me.

'they offered him a drink'

Here 'him' is the indirect object and 'a drink' the direct object

But:

'they offered a drink to him'

Is 'drink' now the indirect object and 'him' the direct object?

Is that correct? If not could someone explain to me why?...

Thanking you in advance
  

Top answer

Welcome to the forum, Djb. In both sentences, what is being offered, the direct object, is the drink.

— Fivejedjon

  • Welcome to the forum, Djb.
  • In both sentences, what is being offered, the direct object, is the drink.
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4 Answers
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Welcome to the forum, Djb.

In both sentences, what is being offered, the direct object, is the drink.
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Hi fivejedjonIm confused as I was taught that an indirect object comes before a direct object. Is this not true then? Cheers
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Djb'they offered a drink to him'Is 'drink' now the indirect object and 'him' the direct object?
No. It doesn't work that way. The direct object is still 'a drink' in both cases.

They offered him a drink has the indirect object 'him'.
They offered a drink to him places the indirect object in a prepositional phrase. Some people say
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Thank you both, that's clear for me now!
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