The indirect object (□) is a person or thing for whom something is done in the sentence. Indirect objects only appear in sentences which contain a direct object. The indirect object is placed after the subject (x) and the verb (o) and in front of the direct object (∆) in sentences with normal word order. If we want to accentuate the indirect object, it is placed at the beginning of the sentence, and inversion is used.
Normal word order:
| Pigen | giver | ham | en bog. | The girl | gives | him | a book. | |
| x | o | □ | ∆ | x | o | □ | ∆ |
Inversion:
| Ham | giver | pigen | en bog. | The girl | gives | a book | to | him. | |
| □ | o | x | ∆ | x | o | ∆ | □ |
Comparison:
The indirect object is placed in the same way in English and in Danish. The indirect object cannot normally be placed at the beginning of the sentence.