Today's lesson is by Tristan, English teacher at EC Malta
There are some verbs that have the indirect object after the verb before the direct object and not at the end of a sentence in a prepositional phrase:
I need to ask you a question. (rather than – I need to ask a question to you)
He promised me a promotion. (rather than – He promised a promotion to me.)
However with ‘say’ and ‘explain’ the direct object must be introduced by a prepositional phrase with to.
She said the guests goodbye
He said me hello.
Explain me the situation.
These sentences are grammatically incorrect and must be:
She said goodbye to the guests.
He said hello to me.
Explain the situation to me.
The verb ‘tell’ can be used with an indirect object following the verb:
He told us an amusing story.
But it can be followed by a direct object with the indirect object in a prepositional phrase depending on the emphasis:
She told me the whole story.
She told the whole story to me.
Subjects and Ojects 1
Subjects and Ojects 2
Choose the correct sentences below:
