16. Indirect Objects and Objective Complements. Grammar

[regan4000]

Isn't "sing" in "He made me sing" a verb? I understand that it's an intransitive verb, but I thought you said only adjectives and nouns could be Object Complements?

[mrthoth]

@regan4000 "Sing" is not a verb here. A verb is something with a subject. But there is no subject of "sing". ("Me" cannot be a subject. One cannot say, "Me sing well.") "Sing" is an infinitive with the "to" elided. Infinitives are never verbs; they are either adjectives (He's the one to beat), adverbs (I work to make money), or nouns (I want to dance.) In this case, "sing" is an adjective modifying "me". The "me" in the sentence is described as singing; it is a singing me.

[regan4000]

@mrthoth I'm confused. In the sentence "They will be here shortly", the modal 'will' is followed by the infinitive form of the verb 'be'. Doesn't that make 'will' the auxiliary verb and 'be' the lexical verb?

[saturdayjade]

Thank you! your lesson was awesome, i have a question, for the sentence "They called their daughter Sarah." is the indirect object daughter? and if it is, what is the direct object?

[mrthoth]

@saturdayjade The sentence can be read at least two ways. If the sentence means that they called out to her (e.g. for her to come to dinner), then the direct object is "daughter" and "Sarah" is an appositive. If it means that they named her Sarah, then "daughter" is still the direct object, but "Sarah" is an objective complement. "They named her Sarah" is similar to "They elected him president": The sequence in both is subject - verb - direct object - objective complement.

[saturdayjade]

@mrthoth Thank you so much, I understand now, you're the best!

[MrJordanFlores]

Thank you so much!! I am enrolled in a prestigious military school (so I know how Drill Sergeant's make men out of civilians lol) and our professor taught this lesson in about 10 minutes and our test is tomorrow. You're teaching style is very hard to forget. I appreciate your logical phrases such as: "Well no, that wouldn't make sense. 'He didn't make a man' " Because it helps me understand what you mean. Thank you for your assistance.

[MindtoEye]

Hi, great video as usual! Kind of curious, what is the relation between objective complement and an oblique (if there is any)

[VPCyd]

Great !

[morgan123476]

LOL!!!! he made me a man.

[hilerc]

what would "move" be in the sentence, "he helped me move"? would it be a simple adverb? I'm only confused because I think it complements "helped", but then again a complement has to be an adjective or noun, and "helped is obviously neither. Thanks for the help.

[hilerc]

what would "move" be in the sentence, "he helped me move"? would it be a simple adverb? I'm only confused because I think it complements "helped", but then again a complement has to be an adjective or noun, and which "helped is obviously neither. Thanks for the help.

[mrthoth]

@hilerc "Move" here is an infinitive with an "invisible" "to" ("he helped me to move"), and it is an objective complement--that is, it complements the object, "me". Verbs (like "helped") cannot be complemented. There are subjective complements ("He is GOOD") and objective complements ("He made me HAPPY"), but there is no such thing as a verb complement.

[MrQuadTrillion]

thanks u so much mrthoth...whoever that indirect object who dislike your vidz ought to have a direct object thrown at him

[TiminPhoenix]

He's just an incredible teacher.

[HawtPotato]

Thank you so much! I have an English final tomorrow and this is on it, but my teacher never explained it to us. This helped a lot!

[TDICourtneyrocks]

what if there was a sentence like "the boy gave me his lizard" would his be another indirect object?

[mrthoth]

@TDICourtneyrocks In that sentence, "me" is the indirect object and "his lizard" is the direct object. To find the direct object, use the following three-word question: "What is [past participle of the main verb]?" In this case, the question is "What is given?" Than answer is "his lizard."

[phantomofthedrivein]

@mrthoth Tratare escribirlo. El chico me lo dio su gato. No se como se dice lizard

[lolgirl997]

have a grammar test tomorrow and this really cleared up a lot! thanks so much :)

[milot1masha]

Thanks a lot.. I really found this helpful :)

[101Fastcat]

lol it looks like he gave her a cake so he gave him a black eye

[Erniel1812l]

Duuuude, you just blew my mind.

[gmsherry1953]

I love this stuff but it's been so long since high school, I've forgotten it. If you reword it "He baked a cake for her," do you still call the prepositional phrase "for her" the indirect object, or is it merely a prepositional phrase modifying "baked"? If you reword it "They elected Carter as President," is the prepositional phrase "as President" still the objective complement, or is it merely a prepositional phrase modifying "elected"? If they must be nouns or adjectives, I guess the latter.

[mrthoth]

@gmsherry1953 I would not call "for her" an indirect object; "her" is the object of the preposition "for". "For her" is an adverbial prepositional phrase, answering the question "Why did he bake?" In the other sentence, "president" is an objective complement, but "as" here is an expletive, a word that preforms no real function but is nevertheless idiomatic.

[PEREZ95NHS]

Dude i have a final on friday, This is helping alot! Thanks dude!

[justagirlfeb]

thank you so much I am really greatful for your lesson

[infoedin]

Thank you very much, this video is awesome. Is there any chance that you might be able to explain: 1. Sdummy (Subject dummy) 2. Sp (Subject proper) 3. Sd (Subject discontinuous) 4. Voc. (Vocative) 5. Od exp (Object direct extraposed) 6. Od dis (Object direct discontinuous) 7. Op (Object prepositional) 8. Negation - Clause negation - Local Negation - Predication negation I know this is too much to explain and record, but I hope you can help us.

[mrthoth]

@thomasczech You're welcome!

[didles123]

3 Things I want to ask....

1) Couldn't you say that made/make + verb form the causative form? Let/Have/Make all do this when put before a verb.

2) A lot of the Objective compliments seem to have an implied verb.

He made me a man -> He made me become a man

They elected Carter to be president

--and so on. When you stick in the verb like this, is it still an objective compliment?

3) So would "I want him alive" be an example with an objective compliment?

[rhiLAPSE]

Thank you kindly. I wasn't expecting a response, given the amount you receive; however, I'm grateful that you found the time to answer. You're fabulous :D

[stupidchinesegirl]

so

"the clown smiled and fave mom a ballon."

whould balloon be the direct object and mom the indirect obect or direct object?

[mrthoth]

Balloon is the direct object and mom is the indirect object.

[stupidchinesegirl]

y do u call it a DIErect object

[mrthoth]

Thanks for your question. There are two common pronunciations of "direct." In one, the "i" is like the "i" in "if." In the other (the one you notice me using), the "i" is pronounced like the "i" in "ice."

[TheLarssan]

Thanks. :)

[rhiLAPSE]

Would this sentence be acceptable to avoid misinterpretation: "he made me INTO a man" ?

[lapibarg]

It is a little confuse. what is the direct and indirect object in this sentence? Some gave an award to Ann.

[mrthoth]

What was given? An award, that's what. Award is the direct object. In "I gave Ann an award," Ann is the indirect object. In "I gave an award," there is no indirect object. You may speak of "Ann" in "I gave an award TO Ann" either as an indirect object or (more precisely) as the object of the preposition "to".

[whiteeagleflies]

I gave an award to Ann.

Gave what? An award - direct object.

To whom? To Ann. Ann is the indirect object.

I gave an award.

I gave an award to Ann.

"to Ann" is a prepositional phrase that complements the verb.

[naslghiwanenglish]

Oh God ! What did I said !, ' to sing ' is a prepositional phrase ? haha . sorry , I meant , 'In fact , to sing is an infinitive phrase

[naslghiwanenglish]

Thank you teacher ! I did not get the last sentence ; 'he made me sing' . you said sing is an objective complement . In fact , to sing is a prepositional phrase , modifying 'me' , functioning as an objective complement . I just thought , could not ' to sing ' modify the verb 'made' , thus functioning as an adverb . Thank you so much , teacher

[mrthoth]

"To sing" cannot be an abverb modifying the verb. When infinitives are adverbial, they mean "in order to" do whatever is being done. "I make money to live." Why do I make money? In order to live, that's why. ("Why?" is a question adverbs answer.) But if we ask "Why did he make me?" we can't answer, "He made me in order to sing"--in fact, we can't even ask "Why did he make me?" He didn't make ME; rather, he made me sing.

[PinkMarzProduction]

i get it !

baked a cake for whom? her!

gave a black eye to whom? him!

oh that helped alottttt!!!!!!!

[Tono101777]

Thank you alot for your videos!

I was really in a hole and I forgot my book.

Your a live saver!

Thanks again!

[spitfire0071234]

I find it funny that people use youtube for help with homework xD but it helps, thanks

[50litvinov]

Tnank you for a very helpful video !

Greetings from Moscow (Russia)!

[talisita89]

yeah me too !!

I understand it perfectly now!

Greetings from Puerto Rico !

[JJ6293]

thanks! helped on homework :D