Ditransitive Verbs: Understanding Double Objects

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  Jennifer. Do you know what I have here?  

It's my Christmas stocking. I've tried to  be good this year, so hopefully Santa will  

bring me some nice treats. Do you know  what he gives you if you're naughty?  

Traditionally, Santa Claus gives a lump  of coal to naughty boys and girls. But  

he's a pretty forgiving guy. I personally don't  know anyone who was given coal for Christmas.

In this lesson, we'll talk  about sentences like this.  

Hopefully, Santa will bring me some  nice treats. How many verbs do you see?

There's one. Will bring.  How many objects do you see?

Two. Some nice treats and me.

How about this next sentence? Santa Claus  gives a lump of coal to naughty boys and girls.  

How many verbs?

One. Gives. How many objects? Let's  find them. What does Santa give?

A lump of coal. Who receives the coal? Naughty  boys and girls. This verb also has two objects.

When a verb takes two objects, we call it  ditransitive. It's less important to know  

the term and more important to understand the  grammar pattern so that you can build sentences  

correctly. That's what we're going to focus  on: building sentences. Let's get started.

In this sentence, there are two objects.  Santa Claus will bring me some nice treats.  

But why are there two objects? Remember in English  

we can talk about a direct object and an  indirect object. What's the difference?

Well, let's back up here. Some verbs have no  object. They simply describe an action or a state.  

Santa Claus laughs. Reindeer  fly. Mrs. Claus is very helpful.

Remember that the verb BE is an example of  a linking verb. Linking verbs are followed  

by subject complements but not objects.  Verbs without an object are intransitive.

When a verb has an object, it's transitive.  Sometimes a verb can be transitive or  

intransitive, like the verb "help." Mrs.  Claus helps. Mrs. Claus helps Santa Claus.  

The object of the verb is called the direct  object. The subject does something to the  

object. The subject's action affects  that person or thing in some way.  

In this sentence, who is helped? Santa. Mrs.  Claus helps Santa. "Santa" is the direct object.  

Again, I'll explain that understanding and using  the grammar is more important than knowing all the  

terminology, but knowing grammar terms is still  useful. It's a way for us to talk about grammar.  

So, let me explain that when a verb  can be transitive or intransitive,  

we can call it ambitransitive. The prefix "ambi-"  means "both." Verbs that are transitive and  

have one object are monotransitive. "Mono-"  means "one," as in: Mrs. Claus helps Santa.  

So, guess what ditransitive means? "Di-" means  "two." A ditransitive verb has two objects.  

Santa will bring me some nice treats. Treats --  this is what Santa brings. It's the direct object.  

Me -- the person receiving or benefiting  from the action. "Me" is the indirect object.

What's the verb in this sentence? Santa gives  a lump of coal to naughty boys and girls.

"Gives." What does he give? A lump of coal. That's  the first object. Who receives the coal? Naughty  

boys and girls. That's the second object. The way  I see it, the prepositional phrase with two gives  

us that second object. Most sources won't call  that prepositional phrase an indirect object, but  

it's equivalent. It does the same job. It tells  us who is benefiting or receiving in some way.

With some ditransitive verbs, we can use the  prepositional phrase or change the word order  

and leave out the preposition. The meaning doesn't  change. We still understand who is receiving or  

benefiting. So with ditransitive verbs, the two  patterns are: subject + verb + direct object + and  

then a prepositional phrase as the second  object. Santa gives coal to naughty children.  

And the second pattern: subject + verb +  indirect object + and then the direct object.  

Santa gives naughty children coal.

By the way, sometimes you'll hear people use  the term double object. It's just another way  

to talk about ditransitive verbs. What you need to  remember is that if we have a choice and we leave  

out the preposition, the indirect object comes  before the direct object: give someone something.

You also need to understand that  not every prepositional phrase  

after a verb means that the verb is ditransitive.  

Remember that prepositional phrases can give  us information about when, where, why, and how.  

Prepositional phrases can be adverbials.  They can give us additional information.

Santa Claus delivers presents on Christmas Eve

"Delivers" is the transitive verb. He delivers  present. That's the direct object. "On Christmas  

Eve" -- that just tells us when. When does he  do this? "On Christmas Eve" is a prepositional  

phrase of time. It's an adverbial. Let's  look at some sentences together. Decide if  

the verb in each sentence is intransitive  or transitive. Does it take an object?  

If it's transitive, how many objects does it  have? Is it monotransitive or ditransitive?

Let's go over the answers. One.  Reindeer pull Santa's sleigh.  

"Pull" is transitive. What do they  pull? Santa's sleigh. One object.  

Two. Santa enters a house through the  chimney. Rhe verb "enters" is transitive.  

What does he enter? He enters a house.  "House" is the direct object. How exactly  

does he get in? Through the chimney. That's a  prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial.  

Three. Santa's red suit gets dirty. The verb?  Gets. This verb has multiple meanings. Here  

we're using it as a linking verb. It has an  intransitive meaning similar to "becomes."  

His suit becomes dirty. Subject + verb +  complement. "Dirty" is a subject complement.  

Four. Children can send their wish list to Santa.  

The verb? Can send. What are  they sending? Their wish list.  

"Wish list" is the direct object of the transitive  verb "send." Who receives the list? Santa.  

We have a prepositional phrase and  it tells us who receives something.

Now I'm going to show you sentences  with ditransitive verbs. Two objects.  

I want you to change the word  order. Remove the preposition.

Here's how we can rewrite each sentence. One,  These days kids can send Santa a text message.

Two. In the past, tech savvy  kids faxed Santa their wish list.

Three. One Christmas, Santa  brought me a huge teddy bear.

Four. I used to write Santa  letters and send them by mail.

How did you do with that last task? Just  remember that with ditransitive verbs we  

may or may not have a prepositional phrase, but  the indirect object still receives something  

or benefits in some way. "To" and "for" are  common prepositions with ditransitive verbs.  

Show me your wish list. Show your wish list to me.

Tell us a Christmas story.  Tell a Christmas story to us.

I'll bring you some holiday cookies.

I'll bring some holiday cookies for you.

Some people send their friends fruit baskets.  Some people send fruit baskets to their friends.

So far, I've only shown you ditransitive verbs  that use the prepositions "to" and "for,"  

but there are ditransitive verbs that use other  prepositions . Remember that not all sources  

agree on terminology and examples, but when a  verb requires a certain preposition we can call  

it a prepositional verb. Don't confuse that with a  phrasal verb. With phrasal verbs, the particle can  

extend or change the meaning, like "listen up."  This phrasal verb means "give me your attention."  

As in, "Hey! Listen up, everyone. I have  a special holiday announcement to make."  

A prepositional verb is just a verb with  a prepositional phrase. For example,  

let's listen to some holiday music. There's only  one preposition there, right? So some people call  

that a monotransitive prepositional verb. It's a  big name. I know. But it just means that we need a  

verb plus a preposition and then the object of the  preposition, and we can't omit that preposition.  

Here are a monotransitive prepositional verbs  you already know. Listen to holiday music.  

Stare at the beautiful Christmas  lights. Wait for Santa and his reindeer.  

Play with new toys. These are set phrases or  collocations you're already familiar with.  

Now we can look at ditransitive  prepositional verbs you already know.  

I thank everyone for their holiday wishes. How do  you explain flying reindeer to little children?

I'd love to introduce you to  American holiday traditions.  

We can compare your traditions with mine.

Look at this next group of ditransitive verbs  

and find the prepositional phrase  functioning as the second object.

Let's look for those objects. I'll  highlight each prepositional phrase  

that functions as the second object of  the ditransitive verb. One. About it.

Two. With milk and cookies. Three. Of  winter fun. Four. From staying up late.  

Five. Of my childhood. And  note how indirect objects  

aren't just nouns or noun phrases. An  object can be a pronoun or a gerund.

And let's take a second to find the first  object of each verb. Do you see them?

Here they are.

This set of examples show how sometimes the double  

object is necessary. The sentence  only makes sense with both objects.  

Other times one of the objects can be left out,  and I'd say usually it's the indirect object.

I know that prepositions are tricky and  I'd like to remind you that I have a  

whole playlist on prepositions. I'll put  the link in the video description. Okay?  

When you don't know which preposition to use with  the verb, look in a learner's dictionary. It will  

tell you the grammar needed. When you learn a new  verb, be sure to know the grammar it requires.  

Learn common phrases like verb + preposition.  These common phrases are collocations.  

Collocations help you build sentences. Here  are some collocations you should know for  

ditransitive verbs. In this first group, you  can leave out the preposition. Remember if  

there's no preposition, put the indirect  object first and then the direct object.

[Music]

Share your thoughts in the comments. You're  having a holiday party. Will you send your  

friends an online invitation or just  text them the details in a group chat?

In this next group of collocations,  

we can't change the word order.  Don't leave out the preposition.

[Music]

There are also a few ditransitive verbs  with no prepositional phrase. For example,  

a live tree can cost you seventy dollars or more.  

Cost someone something. You'll see this pattern  with other verbs related to payment: charge, fine.

Share your thoughts in the comments. Between the  food and the gifts, the holidays can be expensive.  

How can shoppers prevent  themselves from overspending?

Okay. I'm going to increase the challenge  now. Ready? Don't worry. I'll help.  

Transitive verbs have an object, right?  

What if we take the object and make it the subject  of a new sentence? Do you know where I'm going?

Recall what I said earlier. I personally don't  know anyone who was given coal for Christmas.

What kind of verb do we have? Be + the  past participle. The verb is passive.  

We shifted the focus. Compare these two  sentences. Santa gave someone a lump of coal.  

Here the focus is on Santa as the  giver, the doer. This is active.

Someone was given a lump of coal.  

Here the focus is on the receiver. Who  received the coal? This is passive.

So with transitive verbs, we have that  choice of using active or passive,  

depending on where we want to place the focus.  Guess what. With ditransitive verbs, we can  

sometimes form two different passive sentences  because we have two objects to work with.  

We might be able to form a passive sentence  with either object. This isn't always possible  

with every ditransitive verb, but we can  do this with the verb "give." Let's try to  

form another passive sentence, and we'll use  the direct object this time: a lump of coal.

A lump of coal was given to someone by Santa.  

We could leave out the by-phrase  if it's clear from context.

Can you form passive sentences  with these ditransitive verbs?

[Music]

Let's go over the answers. One. We've been  taught some Christmas traditions by Jennifer.  

Some Christmas traditions  have been taught by Jennifer.

Two. Students aren't assigned a  lot of homework over the holidays.  

A lot of homework isn't assigned  to students over the holidays.  

Note how in each pair we first use the indirect  object as the subject and then the direct object.

Let's review. A verb may or may not have an  

object. If it doesn't have  an object, we call it...

intransitive. If it does have an object, it's...

transitive. A transitive verb has what kind of  object? A direct object. That's what the subject  

acts on. The direct object is affected by the  action. If a transitive verb has one object, it's  

monotransitive. Sometimes people talk  about double objects because there are  

verbs that have two objects. We can  also call these verbs ditransitive.  

So ditransitive verbs have a double object, two  objects. A direct object and an indirect object.  

Sometimes that's a prepositional phrase.  Other times the preposition can be left out,  

and we still understand. But if there is no  preposition, the indirect object comes first.  

Indirect objects generally receive something  or benefit from something. And here's a bonus  

question. Do you remember what we call a verb that  has both an intransitive and transitive meaning?  

Ambitransitive. And I do have a lesson on that  topic. I'll put the link in the video description.  

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That's all for now. Please remember to like and  share the video if you found the lesson useful.  

For everyone celebrating Christmas, I hope  Santa brings you something good. As always,  

thanks for watching and happy studies!  Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,  

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[Music]