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Verbs with One or Two Objects

Most of the time, a verb has no object or only one object. But there are several situations in which it can have two objects. The most basic situation has a single object, the direct object:

Subject verb direct object
I drank the tea.

Other types of object also exist, and are discussed below.

Remember this rule: A main verb and its objects which follows it form a single block which should not be broken apart: no other words should be inserted between them.

However, to make this rule understandable we must define the terms verb and object carefully.

If you have heard the term indirect object, forget it now. If you want to understand the rule given above, thinking about indirect objects will only bring confusion. Here, the term object is used for noun phrase, not a prepositional phrase, directly following the main verb.

This sentence has one object:
Subject verb object prepositional phrase
I sent a letter to Tom.

This sentence has two objects:
Subject verb object object
I sent Tom a letter.

It would be an error to write the following, because it would put a non-object between the verb from its object:
Subject verb prepositional phrase object
**I sent to Tom a letter.

But the object may contain many words:
Subject verb object object
I sent Tom a long, self-pitying letter.

This is perfectly acceptable because the words a, long and self-pitying qualify the word letter, and the whole phrase a long, self-pitying letter is an object. Note how an object may contain another verb (pity).

Similarly, an adverb should not separate the verb from its objects. This sentence is wrong:
Subject verb object adverb object
My shares made me yesterday rich.

Again, be careful because the object may contain a lot of words:
Subject verb object object
My shares made me suddenly rich.

This sentence is correct because the word suddenly qualifies the word rich, and the whole phrase suddenly rich is an object. Here is an even longer example:
Subject verb object object
The shares made the man who cleverly bought them at exactly the right time rich.

'Phrasal' verbs

If a 'phrasal' verb takes a noun (ie. a substantive or adjective) as its object, then the second (usually adverbial) element of the verb may be included in the position of the verb, or may come later, following the object:
Subject 'phrasal' verb object
I picked up the teapot.

Subject verbal element of 'phrasal' verb object adverbial element of 'phrasal' verb
I picked the teapot up.

But if the object is a pronoun, then the second element must come later:
Subject verbal element of 'phrasal' verb object adverbial element of 'phrasal' verb
I picked it up.

This is not allowed:
Subject 'phrasal' verb object
**I picked up it.

The applicative

The applicative adds another object to a verb which already has an object. It is discussed in changing the relations of the verb.

Predicative objects

A predicative object comes after the direct object. An adjective can be a predicative object to many verbs:

Subject simple verb direct object predicative object (adjective)
I want my curry hot.
I washed the window clean.
I wrote the words small.
I painted the walls black.

Factitive verbs

Factitive verbs express causing something to become something (the translative) which it was not before. Different verbs show different behaviour patterns. Most of them (make, turn, change, convert) may express the translative with into if it is not an adjective:

Subject verb direct object prepositonal phrase (no adjective)
My business has made me into a millionaire.
She turned her husband into a vegetarian.
I will convert this bedroom into an office.
I am changing some Swiss Francs into Euros.

A few verbs can express the translative as a predicative object if it is not an adjective. The most common one is make. Others are obscure: create means giving someone a new noble title, and promote is used in the armed forces to mean increasing someone's rank.

Subject verb direct object predicative object
My business has made me a millionaire.
The drill instructor will make you soldiers.
Queen Victoria created Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington.
General Allenby promoted Lawrence Colonel.

Make, turn and get may take adjectives as predicative objects:

Subject verb direct object predicative object
The rain made the grass wet.
I got my clothes dirty.
Old age has turned my hair white.

Verbs of thought

Verbs of thought such as think, consider and find may take a substantive or an adjective as a predicative object:

Subject verb direct object predicative object
I think him stupid.
I think him an idiot.
I find this a problem.
I consider my pay too little.

Verbs of communication

Some verbs of communication, such as tell and show, allow an applicative even when there is no direct object.

I will tell the story to you. (Direct object plus prepositional phrase)
I will tell you the story. (Direct object plus applicative object)
I will tell the story. (Direct object)
I will tell you. (Applicative object)

But with other verbs of communication, such as say and explain, the applicative is not used at all. **I will say you something. and **I will explain you it. both sound wrong.

The passive with two objects

The passive removes the subject and changes the object into a new subject:

Active Passive with be Passive with get
I am eating the fish. The fish is being eaten. The fish is getting eaten.

A direct object may be changed into a subject but a predicative object may not:

Active Passive with be Passive with get Error
The Romans made Caesar a king. Caesar was made a king. Caesar got made a king. **A king was made Caesar.
Old age is turning my hair grey. My hair is being turned grey. My hair is getting turned grey. **Grey is getting turned my hair.

If a verb has an applicative object and a direct object, the applicative object may be changed into a subject but the direct object may not:

Active Passive of applicative object
I will tell you the story. You will be/get told the story.
I will give you the money. You will be/get given the money.

It would be unusual to convert the direct object into a subject if there is an applicative. This happens in some colloquial dialects (particularly those of northern England) but it is not used in most dialects and it is considered incorrect:

Active Passive of direct object (error)
I will tell you the story. **The story will be/get told you.
I will give you the money. **The money will be/get given you.

Instead, if you want to change the direct object into a subject, you should start from the form without an applicative object:

Active Passive of direct object
I will tell the story to you. The story will be/get told to you.
I will give the money to you. The money will be/get given to you.


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