EXERCISE 63–3 Identifying objects and complements

Each of the following sentences has either an indirect object followed by a direct object or a
direct object followed by an object complement. Label the objects and complements, using
these labels; IO, DO, OC. If an object or complement consists of more than one word, bracket
and label all of it. Example:

DO OC
Every man thinks his own geese swans.

a. Sorrow makes us wise. — Alfred Lord Tennyson

b. Too many people make money their primary pursuit. — Anonymous
c. Make us happy and you make us good. — Robert Browning
d. Ask me no questions, and I will tell you no lies. — Anonymous
e. Show me a good loser, and I will show you a failure. — Paul Newman

1. Give the devil his due. — English proverb

2. God gives every bird its proper food, but all must fly for it. — Dutch proverb

3. A wide screen makes a bad film worse. — Samuel Goldwyn

4. Trees and fields tell me nothing. — Socrates

5. Necessity can make us surprisingly brave. — Latin proverb

Exercise master for The Bedford Handbook, 7th ed., by Diana Hacker (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006).