To differentiate various entities after the verb, the first thing to realize is that the three most common roles for nouns after a verb are direct object, indirect object, and object of a preposition. First, look for a preposition to the left of a noun or noun phrase. If there is one, it is very likely that the noun is the object of a preposition. If there isn’t a preposition, then the noun is likely either an indirect object or a direct object. To differentiate between these two, remember that an indirect object is to the left of the direct object. Also, an indirect object can be reworded into a prepositional phrase beginning with for or to. A direct object can’t be reworded. For example, in the sentence the princess makes Shrek and Donkey breakfast, there are several nouns after the verb. The first two are connected together with and, so they can be considered a matched set and lumped together as one noun phrase. This means there are really only two different entities after the verb. Since the first is the group Shrek and Donkey, this group is the indirect object, and the second entity, breakfast, is the direct object. To double-check, we can try to reword the sentence using for with the indirect object, Shrek and Donkey. We can say the princess makes for Shrek and Donkey breakfast. Of course, this would seem more natural if, as part of the rewording process, we shifted the position, too, and said the princess makes breakfast for Shrek and Donkey. This rewording results in a sentence with the same meaning, so we have confirmed that Shrek and Donkey is an indirect object. To triple check, we can try it the other way around, and put for with breakfast. Now we have the sentence the princess makes Shrek and Donkey for breakfast, and this rewording results in a sentence with a very different meaning, indeed! Therefore, breakfast is NOT an indirect object, but a direct object.
Such tests or strategies work for native speakers because they can rely on their native speaker intuition to tell if the results of the tests produce new meanings or similar meanings. Such tests aren’t as helpful for non-native speakers, especially for beginners, but once a high enough proficiency level is reached, they may become useful. Working on sentences in these ways helps focus on the interrelatedness of form and meaning, and both are important in language teaching. The ability to manipulate sentence form, especially to reword, is essential for language teachers. Very often I have observed beginning language teachers attempt to explain a sentence’s meaning, and they end up simply repeating the sentence again just as it is already written. Repeating a sentence is not the same thing as explaining a sentence. Explanations need to use words or forms different from what is already in front of the student.
Activity 4.3: Manipulating indirect objects
Group A: All the following sentences have prepositional phrases that can be turned into indirect objects. Rewrite each sentence so that there isn’t a prepositional phrase but an indirect object instead. You must use correct punctuation and capitalization.
Group B: All the following sentences have indirect objects that can be reworded into prepositional phrases. Write the sentence that results from the rewording process. You must use correct punctuation and capitalization.
Declarative sentences in English are also called statements, and statements don’t have to be full sentences. Since most native speakers encounter grammar rules in schools, where the focus is on learning standard forms for use in formal and written public discourse, there is a tendency to ignore the short answer statements that are used in response to Yes-No questions. However, these forms need to be taught to non-native speakers of English since the goal is the entirety of the language, not only the standard forms. In these short answers, we generally only use a subject pronoun and a partial verb form, dropping out large portions of the information in the predicate. When someone asks, “Do you like coffee?” We respond with only, “Yes, I do,” or “No I don’t.” And these shortened forms are declarative sentences, too.
