I'm having trouble grading my son's grammar paper. Help?

Question

I haven't done this stuff in so long! lol Can anyone help me? I'll type the sentences, and the word in ( ), I need to know whether it is the direct object, indirect object, or the object of a preposition.

1. I have not seen (her) for a long time.
2. We enjoy having people around (us).
3. The speaker's arguments convinced (him).
4. Alexandra showed (them) her latest drawings.
5. The younger children sat in front of (her).
6. The artist painted (them) a picture.
7. During the conference, we sat opposite (him).
8. The hostess thanked (them) for the gift.
9. Daniel wrote (her) a note last week.
10. Carol is playing against (her) in the semifinals.

Thanks in advance to anyone who anwsers. ^_^

I homeschool him. I print papers off of the internet for him to do, but there wasn't an anwser key for this particular paper.

This is all still review for him. And he knew how to do it. I didn't need to teach it to him. I just needed to know the anwsers so I could make sure I was grading it properly.

Answer 1

A direct object is the answer to "whom/what?" after the verb. So, your first question:

1. I have not seen whom? Her. Her is a direct object.

The indirect object is usually the answer for "to/for whom/what?" after the verb. So, your number 4:

4. Alexandra showed what? Her latest drawings. To whom? Them. 'Her latest drawings' are the direct object and 'them' is the indirect object.

Always think of in/direct objects as being related to the verbs in some way.

The object of a preposition is related to the preposition, not the verb. You might have the same questions (whom, what, etc.), but the questions are asked after the preposition. Like in 7.

7. We sat what? whom? to whom? for whom? Those questions don't work. We sat opposite whom? Him. The preposition 'opposite' is what the 'him' has to do with, therefore it's the object of a preposition.

So, let's go down the list looking at the ones I haven't looked at:

2. We enjoy having what/whom? People. The 'us' doesn't fit in with whom/what and to whom/what and is right after the preposition. I'm guessing you've figured it out now that it is the object of a preposition.

3. The speaker's arguments convinced whom? Him. So what is it? Yes, a direct object.

5. The younger children sat whom/what/etc.? Doesn't work. The 'her' comes after the prepositional phrase 'in front of'.

6. The artist painted what? A picture. For whom? Them. 'For whom' is our key that it's an indirect object.

8. The hostess thanked whom? Them. Direct object.

9. Daniel wrote what? A note. To whom? Her. Indirect object.

10. Carol is playing what/whom/to whom/etc? No answer. Carol is playing *against* whom? Her. Object of a preposition.

Answer 2

How can you teach material that you don't know? This is one reason why people have such a negative view of homeschooling.