Saturday, November 27, 2010

I give it to him.

There are 2 forms in English for giving something (the direct object) to someone (the indirect object).

This is the more formal form:

I give the ball to Snoopy.
I give it to Snoopy.
I give it to him.

This is the more casual form:

I give Snoopy the ball.
I give him the ball.
X I give him it. < -- we don't use a pronoun for the direct object in this form.