Using transitive and intransitive verbs
|
Transitive verbs with two objects | page 2 of 4 |
Form and behaviour of transitive verbs with two objects
Some actions and events involve three participants, ie a subject (S) plus two objects: a direct object (DO) and an indirect object (IO):
I'll send you a letter.
S IO DO
Note that the technical term for a verb with two objects is ditransitive verb 
.
In the above situation, the person hearing or reading this message will also be the receiver of the direct object, ie the letter.
Note that in the above example the indirect object is placed immediately after the verb. The grammar also allows a speaker or writer the option of expressing this idea another way; compare:
I'll send you a letter.
IOI'll send a letter to you.
IO
In the second example the indirect object has moved to the end of the clause, and is
now introduced by a preposition: to .
Consider what happens when another verb such as draft instead of write is used; compare:
I'll draft you a letter.
IOI'll draft a letter for you.
IO
In this example, because the meaning conveyed by the verb has been changed, the indirect object is now introduced by a different preposition: for. This indicates that the person hearing or reading this message will not be the receiver of the letter (presumably the letter will be sent on to the person it is addressed to). Instead, the person (probably the boss) represented by the indirect object can be seen as the person who benefits from the letter having been drafted.
Introduction
Form and behaviour of transitive verbs with two objects
