Indirect objects and secondary objects
المؤلف:
PAUL R. KROEGER
المصدر:
Analyzing Grammar An Introduction
الجزء والصفحة:
P61-C4
2025-12-15
29
“Indirect objects” and secondary objects
There is a problem with the way the term “indirect object” is used in traditional grammar. This problem can be seen in relation to the pair of sentences in (23).
(23) a John gave Mary his old radio.
b John gave his old radio to Mary.
In traditional grammar, Mary would be called the “indirect object” of both sentences (23a) and (23b). However, in(23b) Mary is preceded by the preposition to and occurs at the end of the sentence, while in (23a) Mary occurs immediately following the verb without any preposition. These facts suggest that the Grammatical Relation of Mary in (23a) is not the same as in (23b). (There are a number of other grammatical differences which support this conclusion as well, but we are not yet ready to discuss them.)
As this example illustrates, the term “indirect object” in traditional gram mar is used to refer to the semantic role of recipient (or sometimes beneficiary), rather than to a specific Grammatical Relation. We have said that Grammatical Relations must be identified on the basis of grammatical properties, not semantic roles. The grammatical properties of Mary in (23a) are essentially the same as those of Bill in (24a); and the grammatical properties of Mary in (23b) are in many ways the same as those of the attic in (24b). Thus, based on grammatical properties, we would say that Mary bears the OBJ relation in (23a), but the OBL relation in (23b).
(24) a Susan slapped Bill.
b John stored his coin collection in the attic.
If Mary bears the OBJ Relation in (23a), what is the Grammatical Relation of his old radio in that sentence? We will refer to it as the SECONDARY OBJECT, using the abbreviation OBJ2. The sentences in (25) provide additional examples of this “double object” pattern. In these sentences the verb is followed by two NP objects. The first of these bears the OBJ relation; we call it the DIRECT or PRIMARY OBJECT. The second NP is the SECONDARY OBJECT (OBJ2).
(25) a Mary gave [her son]OBJ [a new bicycle]OBJ2.
b Reluctantly, Henry showed [Susan]OBJ [his manuscript]OBJ2.
c Uncle George told [the children]OBJ [a story]OBJ2.
Many languages allow sentences like those in (25), in which the verb has two object NPs. In most languages, one of these NPs can be identified as the primary object (OBJ) and the other as the secondary object (OBJ2). The specific grammatical criteria that distinguish OBJ from OBJ2 will vary somewhat from one language to the next, but the following guidelines describe some of the more common differences:
a SPECIAL MARKING: If one object is marked like the object of a simple (mono-) transitive
clause while the other gets a special marker (e.g. dative case), the one with
the special marker is probably the OBJ2.
b AGREEMENT: If the verb agrees with only one of the two objects, it will normally agree with
the primary object.
c PASSIVIZATION: If only one of the two objects can be expressed as the subject of a passive
clause, it will normally be the primary object.
d POSITION: If there is no difference in the marking of the two objects, e.g. if both are bare
NPs, and if their relative ordering is fixed (or if one ordering can be shown to be more basic
than the other), the object that occurs closest to the verb is more likely to be the primary
object.
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