How a sentence is built · CEFR A2 · Everyday
Two objects — English sentence structure
Give, send, show, tell and buy can take two objects. The person comes first, or the thing comes first with to or for after it.
The shape
verb + person + thing · verb + thing + to / for + person
Say who you gave something to, both ways.
In Hindi
give, send, show जैसी क्रियाओं के दो कर्म होते हैं — पहले व्यक्ति, या पहले चीज़ और फिर to / for।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
She gave to me the file. | She gave me the file. With the person first there is no "to". Use "to" only when the thing comes first. |
Two objects examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
He gave me the file.
उसने मुझे फाइल दी।
also correct: She gave me the file.
She gave me this book.
उसने मुझे यह किताब दी।
Give me your number.
मुझे अपना नंबर दो।
Show me the map.
मुझे नक्शा दिखाइए।
Send me a message.
मुझे एक संदेश भेजो।
She made tea for me.
उसने मेरे लिए चाय बनाई।
I will tell you everything.
मैं तुम्हें सब कुछ बता{ऊँगा|ऊँगी}।
The teacher tells me the right answer.
शिक्षक मुझे सही जवाब बताते हैं।
My mother is cooking food for me.
मेरी माँ मेरे लिए खाना बना रही हैं।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the two objects used for?
- Give, send, show, tell and buy can take two objects. The person comes first, or the thing comes first with to or for after it. In practice: say who you gave something to, both ways.
- How do you form the two objects?
- verb + person + thing · verb + thing + to / for + person.
- What is the most common mistake with the two objects?
- Saying “She gave to me the file.” instead of “She gave me the file.”. With the person first there is no "to". Use "to" only when the thing comes first.
Where two objects fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Two objects is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to how a sentence is built. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the two objects →