Mrs. Sullivan’s guide to determining various parts of speech.
- Read the sentence. Sam gave Kate a balloon.
- Find the verb first. gave
- Ask “Who or what gave?” Sam. Sam is the subject.
- Ask “Gave what?” balloon. Balloon is the direct object.
- Ask “To whom or for whom?” Kate. Kate is the indirect object.
- Note Bene: if the words “to” or “for” are actually written in the sentence before what you would consider the indirect object, don’t be fooled. They are prepositions and what you think is the indirect object is actually the object of the preposition. For example, Mrs. Sullivan baked Halloween cookies for her delightful students. Students is the object of the preposition “for.”
- Finally - the indirect object - if there is one in the sentence - always comes before the direct object.
