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Use verbs such as give, send, show and lend with either person + thing or thing + to/for + person, depending on the verb.
Overview
Use verbs such as give, send, show and lend with either person + thing or thing + to/for + person, depending on the verb.
Form and rules
Many verbs allow verb + person + thing: She gave me a book.
The alternative is often verb + thing + to + person: She gave a book to me.
With buy, make and cook, the alternative commonly uses for: He bought flowers for her.
Pronoun objects usually sound natural before the thing: Send me it is less natural than Send it to me when both are pronouns.
Not every verb allows both patterns, so learn common two-object verbs as patterns.
A closer look
Pronoun objects usually sound natural before the thing: Send me it is less natural than Send it to me when both are pronouns.
Not every verb allows both patterns, so learn common two-object verbs as patterns.
Examples
She sent me a photo.
She sent a photo to me.
Can you show us the way?
I bought my sister a present.
He cooked dinner for his friends.
Common mistakes
The indirect object after give is an object pronoun: me.
With send + thing + person, use to.
Ready to practise?
The test combines multiple choice, gap completion, error correction, and sentence building so students have to recognise and produce the grammar, not simply reread the rule.