Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Practice Test

In the sentence "John sent his mother flowers," what is the grammatical function of the word "mother"?

1. A direct object.

2. A predicate nominative.

3. An indirect object.

4. An object pronoun.

The correct answer is: An indirect object.

In the sentence "John sent his mother flowers," the word "mother" serves as an indirect object. The indirect object is the recipient of the action of the verb and typically answers the questions "to whom?" or "for whom?" the action is done. Here, "John" is the subject performing the action of sending, "flowers" is the direct object (what is being sent), and "mother" indicates to whom the flowers are being sent. Thus, "mother" is receiving the flowers, making it the indirect object in this context. The other grammatical functions suggested by the other options do not align with the role "mother" plays in the sentence. The direct object refers to the thing that is being acted upon, which in this case is "flowers." A predicate nominative would only appear in sentences with linking verbs and would rename the subject, which doesn’t apply here. Lastly, an object pronoun would replace a noun in the object position, but "mother" is a noun, not a pronoun. Therefore, "mother" is correctly identified as an indirect object, highlighting the relationship between the action of sending and the recipient of that action.