Collins Cobuild English Grammar (73 page)

offer

owe

pass

pay

play

post

quote

read

rent

repay

sell

send

serve

show

sing

take

teach

tell

write

indirect objects with
for

3.77
    If the action you are describing involves one person doing something that will benefit another person, you can use the preposition
for
to introduce the indirect object.

He left a note
for her
on the table.
He poured more champagne
for the three of them
.
She brought presents
for the children
.

Here is a list of verbs that can have an indirect object introduced by
for
:

book

bring

build

buy

cash

cook

cut

design

fetch

find

fix

get

guarantee

keep

leave

make

mix

order

paint

pick

play

pour

prepare

reserve

save

secure

set

sing

spare

take

win

write

USAGE NOTE

3.78
    Note that the verbs
bring
,
leave
,
play
,
sing
,
take
, and
write
are in both of the lists (
3.76
and
3.77
). That is because there are a few verbs that can take either
to
or
for
in front of the indirect object, depending on the meaning you want to express. For example,
Karen wrote a letter to her boyfriend
means that the letter was addressed to her boyfriend and was for him to read.
Karen wrote a letter for her boyfriend
means that her boyfriend wanted to send someone else a letter and Karen was the person who actually wrote it.

USAGE NOTE

3.79
    There are some verbs that take two objects where the indirect object almost always comes in front of the direct object rather than being introduced by
to
or
for
. For example, you say
He begrudged his daughter the bread she ate
and
She allowed her son only two pounds a week
. It would be very unusual to say
She allowed two pounds a week to her son
.

Here is a list of verbs that do not usually have their indirect object introduced by
to
or
for
:

allow

ask

begrudge

bet

cause

charge

cost

deny

draw

envy

forgive

grudge

promise

refuse

Note that
wish
can be used as this sort of verb when its direct object is a word or phrase like
luck
,
good luck
, or
happy birthday
.

3.80
    When you use a passive form of a verb with two objects, either the direct object or the indirect object can become the subject. See
9.20
for full information.

USAGE NOTE

3.81
    When the subject and the indirect object refer to the same person, you can use a
reflexive pronoun
as the indirect object.

I’m going to buy
myself
some new clothes.
He
had got
himself
a car.
He
cooked
himself
an omelette.

Reflexive pronouns
are explained in paragraphs
1.111
to
1.118
.

verbs that usually have both a direct object and an indirect object

3.82
    Most of the verbs listed above as verbs that take two objects can be used with the same meaning with just a direct object.

He left
a note
.
She fetched
a jug
from the kitchen.

However, the following verbs always or usually have both a direct object and an indirect object:

accord

advance

allow

deny

give

hand

lend

loan

show

tell

A few verbs can be used with the person who benefits from the action, or receives something, as the direct object.

I
fed the baby
when she woke.
I
forgive you
.

Here is a list of these verbs:

ask

envy

feed

forgive

pay

teach

Phrasal verbs:
I sat down
,
She woke me up

3.83
    There is a special group of verbs that consist of two or three words. These are called
phrasal verbs
. They consist of

a verb followed by an adverb:

He
sat down
.
The noise gradually
died away
.
The cold weather
set in
.

a verb followed by a preposition (sometimes called a
prepositional verb
):