She threw the ball at me

[Yourjones]

Hello

Is "me" or "at me" the indirect object in the sentence "She threw the ball at me"? I understand "the ball" is the (direct) object.

According to my knowledge, the "me" in "He told me a story" is a proper indirect object.

Thanks.

 

[Matthew Wai]

http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/indirect_object.htm
Having read the above, I consider 'me' to be the indirect object, but I am not a teacher.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, YourJones:

In my opinion:

1. "He threw the ball to me." = We were playing baseball, and he threw the ball to me as part of the game. ("ball" is the direct object; "me" is the object of the preposition "to.")

2. "He threw the ball at me." = He is a very bad person, for he was trying to hurt me with that ball.

3. "He threw me the ball."

a. "Me" is an indirect object.
b. This is another way to say sentence #1.

 

[Yourjones]

Thanks a lot! However, in "He threw the ball at me", what is the "at me"? Is it an adverbial?

Thanks.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think 'at me' is an adverbial prepositional phrase modifying the verb 'threw', but I am not a teacher.

 

[Yourjones]

Thank you so much! I understand there are different purposes for adverbial phrases, but what is it of this instance? Does it modify the "direction" of the verb? I am sorry if my question does not make sense.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the prepositional phrase describes the direction, but I am not a teacher.