Peter,

 

They are pragmatically different.  In “Jack hit the ball to me”, “to me” is new information or focus.  In “Jack hit me the ball”, “the ball” is focus.  They would be used in different contexts.  Of course focus can also be shifted with intonation, but I’m not assuming that here.  Analytically the two mean the same thing, but functionally they are quite different.

 

Herb

 

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Peter Adams
Sent: Tuesday, November 28, 2006 1:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Prepositional phrase as an indirect object

 

I'm wondering if these two sentences differ in meaning:

Jack hit the ball to me.
Jack hit me the ball.

Peter Adams

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