Indirect Passive: Verbs with Two Objects

Level B2 · Passive Voice

Some verbs — give, send, show, tell, offer, teach, promise, buy — take two objects: an indirect object (the person) and a direct object (the thing). The teacher gave the students a test has two objects: the students (indirect) and a test (direct). Either object can become the subject of a passive sentence, giving English two different passive versions of the same active sentence, with two different, equally correct meanings of emphasis.

Two ways to make the passive from a double-object verb:

• Indirect object as subject (the most natural, most common choice in English): The students were given a test (by the teacher) — focuses on the students, and the direct object (a test) stays right after the verb, without to/for.
• Direct object as subject (less common, more formal): A test was given to the students (by the teacher) — focuses on the test, and the indirect object needs to/for before it, exactly as it would in the active sentence's rephrasing (give a test to the students).
• Common double-object verbs that work this way: give, send, show, tell, offer, teach, promise, buy, pay, lend, award, hand — I was sent an email; An email was sent to me; She was taught French; French was taught to her (by a private tutor).
• The by + agent phrase is optional in both versions and is usually dropped when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious: I was given some good advice (no need to say by whom).

The most common mistake is putting to/for before the indirect object when it's already the subject — I was given to a test or I was given a test to me are both wrong; once the indirect object is the subject, drop to/for entirely: I was given a test. A second mistake is treating only the direct object as possible in the passive and forgetting that the indirect object can also become the subject — many learners default to A test was given to the students and never realize The students were given a test is not only correct but actually more common.

Look for a verb with two objects in the active sentence (a person and a thing) — give, send, show, tell, offer, teach, promise, buy, pay, lend are common ones. If the person becomes the subject, the thing follows the verb directly with no preposition (I was given a book). If the thing becomes the subject, the person needs to/for before it (A book was given to me).

Practice

Indirect Passive: Person or Thing as Subject? · Mixed Practice