Which sentence has a ditransitive verb?

Which sentence has a ditransitive verb?

• A. The cat slept on the mat.
• B. He reads a book.
• C. They bought a car.
• D. Mother made dresses for my doll.

Answer: (D)

Ditransitive verbs take two objects or two complements: something is done to something, for someone or to someone. In the first two sentences, the verbs act with a single object or have no object at all, so they aren’t ditransitive. The second sentence has one object: reads a book. The third sentence also has one object: bought a car. The fourth sentence shows two complements: dresses (the direct object) and for my doll (the recipient). This structure—doing something to something for someone—fits the pattern of a ditransitive verb, so that sentence is the correct one.

Ditransitive verbs take two objects or two complements: something is done to something, for someone or to someone. In the first two sentences, the verbs act with a single object or have no object at all, so they aren’t ditransitive. The second sentence has one object: reads a book. The third sentence also has one object: bought a car. The fourth sentence shows two complements: dresses (the direct object) and for my doll (the recipient). This structure—doing something to something for someone—fits the pattern of a ditransitive verb, so that sentence is the correct one.