Exercises to learn English

Verbs with two objects

Verbs like "give, show, lend, send ... " are often followed by two objects (an indirect object and a direct object):

James is going to give Jenny (I.O.) a bouquet of roses (D.O.).

When sentences like the one above are made passive, either object can be the subject of the passive sentence:

Jenny is going to be given a bouquet of roses. A bouquet of roses is going to be given to Jenny.

The indirect object usually becomes the subject of the passive verb:

Nevertheless, which object should be chosen to become subject of the passive verb depends on what has been said or on what will be said afterwards:

Every year a nice bouquet of roses is given to the person who makes the best cake for the school party. (In this case the indirect object has not become the subject because it is followed by a relative clause and then the verb would go after the relative clause.)