Ditransitive verb

A ditransitive verb takes both a direct object and an indirect object: the direct object is the thing acted on, and the indirect object is the person or thing that receives it — 'he handed her the key'.

He handed her the key. Two objects. The key is the direct object — the thing handed. Her is the indirect object — the one who received it. Verbs that work this way include give, send, tell, show, offer, promise, buy, lend, teach and hand.

English allows two orders, and they are not interchangeable.

• He handed her the key. — indirect object first, no preposition.
• He handed the key to her. — direct object first, indirect object in a prepositional phrase.

Whatever comes last takes the stress. The first version is about the key; the second is about who got it. When an editorial note says a line lands on the wrong word, swapping a ditransitive around is often the cheapest fix available, and unlike a cleft sentence it costs no extra words.

The second order is also the one to use when the direct object is short and the indirect object is long, because English prefers to put the heavier element at the end: He handed the key to the woman who had been waiting since six reads better than the alternative.