What is an indirect and direct object

Hi,

what is an indirect and direct object

Here are a couple of examples.

Tom gave a gift to Mary.

Tom gave Mary a gift.

In both cases, 'a gift' is the direct object and 'Mary' is the indirect object.



Please say 'please' when you ask for help. It makes us volunteers happy.



Thank you, Clive

Here is an imperfect definition that my students generally were able to comprehend.

Direct object: receives the action of the verb, which is performed by the subject.

Indirect object: receives the direct object itself.

The babysitter gave the little imp a spanking.

d.o. i.o.

[<:o)] thanks clive you halped me alot!I think i really just might get an A thanks from snickers!

May I ask a very respectful question? Was it just a mistake when you labeled "the little imp" as d.o. and "a spanking" as i.o. According to what I learned, the d.o. is surely "a spanking" and the i.o. is "the little imp." The usual test is to change the i.o. to a prepositional phrase: The babysitter GAVE a SPANKING (to the LITTLE IMP). Thank you for clarifying this matter.