Everyday Grammar TV: A Gift-giving Sentence Pattern

JR: Hi Dr. Jill!
Dr. J: Hi John! You know, this is a big gift-giving season in the United States.
JR: Not for me! You know I don’t give gifts. I do enjoy receiving them, however.
Dr. J: That’s not a very nice attitude, John.
JR: I’m joking... well, I’m kind of joking ...
Dr. J: For today’s lesson, we might explore a common sentence pattern we use to describe the gifts that we gave.
JR: Like the transitive verb followed by two noun phrases.
Dr. J: Sure, that’s a great example.
JR: Transitive verbs take a direct object. The direct object receives the action of the verb. The direct object is our first noun phrase.
Dr. J: The indirect object - the person who receives the direct object - is our second noun phrase.
JR: Let’s take an example.
Bob gave his son a ukelele.
Dr. J: Here, we have the verb “give.” The direct object is “a ukelele” What did Bob give? He gave a ukelele. Who is going to receive the ukelele? His son. In this case, “his son” is the indirect object.
JR: Here’s another example:
Susan bought her mother a sweater.
Dr. J: Note that this time we have the verb “buy.” The direct object is “a sweater.” What did Susan buy? A sweater. Who is going to receive the sweater? Her mother. In this example, “her mother” is the indirect object.
JR: You know, all of these nice example sentences make me want to give gifts. Maybe we can end with a final example:
I am giving Dr. Jill a Christmas gift. (hands jill a gift bag)
Dr. J: Wow, thanks, John! (opening bag) It’s a hat! Just what I needed! And that’s Everyday Grammar TV.
---------
Learning English is Voice of America’s multimedia source of news and information for millions of English learners worldwide. We help you build vocabulary, strengthen your speaking skills and improve your ability to communicate for work, school and everyday life.
EXPLORE OUR PLAYLISTS:
» Learning English Podcast: • Learning English Podcast
» Let's Learn English with Anna! (For children 8-12) • Let's Learn English wi...
» Let's Learn English Level 1 • Let's Learn English
» Let's Learn English Level 2 • Let's Learn English Le...
» VISIT OUR WEBSITE: learningenglis...
» LIKE OUR FACEBOOK PAGE: / voalearningenglish
» FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM: / voalearningenglish
» FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: / voalearnenglish
» SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST ON ITUNES: itunes.apple.c...
Voice of America (VOA) is the largest U.S. international broadcaster, providing news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 326 million people.