 Common English mistakes with direct and indirect objects from EspressoEnglish.net Can you find the mistakes in these sentences? They are all incorrect. They don't sound natural. I bought yesterday a new t-shirt. Please finish quickly the report. I'll put on the table the dishes. What's wrong with these sentences? Well, each sentence has a verb, bought, finished, and put. And each sentence also has a direct object. A direct object is the object that is acted upon by the verb. So, the direct object in the first sentence is a new t-shirt. In the second sentence, the direct object is the report. And in the third sentence, the direct object is the dishes. But it doesn't sound natural when we have a word in the middle between the verb and its direct object. And that's why these sentences sound strange. Here's the correct way to say them. I bought a new t-shirt yesterday. You can see that the direct object, a new t-shirt, immediately follows the verb, bought. Please finish the report quickly. I'll put the dishes on the table. So, whenever we have a verb with a direct object, keep the verb and direct object together and don't put any words in the middle. Now, there's one exception. And that is indirect objects. An indirect object is the person who receives the action or receives the direct object. In these sentences, the indirect objects are highlighted in yellow. For example, I gave John the books. Gave is the verb. The books are the direct object. And John is the indirect object. Please send me the report. Send is the verb. The report is the direct object. And me is the indirect object. I'll lend you my car. Lend is the verb. My car is the direct object. And you is the indirect object. So it's okay to have an indirect object in the middle between the verb and the direct object. But here's one more mistake. Sometimes, students say, I gave to John the books. Please send to me the report. I'll lend to you my car. These sentences are also incorrect. If you want to use the word to, then you should put the indirect object at the end of the sentence. For example, I gave the books to John. Please send the report to me. I'll lend my car to you. These sentences are the same as when we have the indirect object in the middle. So I gave the books to John is exactly the same as I gave John the books. Both versions are correct. So let's review. When a verb has a direct object, keep the direct object immediately after the verb. For example, please finish the report quickly. It is possible for an indirect object to come in the middle. For example, please send me the report. The indirect object can also be at the end with to. For example, please send the report to me. But you can't put it in the middle with to. Don't say, please send to me the report. That's not correct. We often put the indirect object at the end of the sentence with to if the indirect object is a long phrase. For example, please send the report to the managing editor of the newspaper. The managing editor of the newspaper is quite a long phrase. So it's best to put it at the end of the sentence after to and not in the middle between the verb and the direct object. If you'd like to correct your mistakes and learn to use English more confidently, check out my advanced English grammar course, which will take your English from good to great. It includes feedback on writing tasks which are included with every lesson. Click on the link in the video to learn more.