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Do these sentences make sense grammatically, and if so, is this a formal/colloquial/archaic construction?

She gave it him. She gave him it.

It was provided her by the state. She was provided it by the state.

I explained it him in simple terms. I explained him it in simple terms.

They granted it her on specific grounds. They granted her it on specific grounds.

Will you sell it me? Will you sell me it?

gj255
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  • They are grammatical and can be found in writing, though rare. They do not make immediate sense and should be avoided. You can find explanation of this structure/ construction in online references with a little effort. – Kris Oct 03 '13 at 12:53
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    Some of them are ungrammatical in Modern English, though they may have occurred in earlier stages of the language. – John Lawler Oct 03 '13 at 16:36

2 Answers2

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In Modern American English, pronoun objects are subject to a number of constraints
that don't apply to noun objects.

For instance, pronoun objects must precede phrasal verb particles,
while noun objects can swing both ways:

  • *I picked up him ~ I picked him up.
  • I picked up Bill ~ I picked Bill up.

And in the example sentences there are two objects, since the predicates are all bitransitive.
However, with Dative Alternation -- which is the rule that deletes to --
only certain configurations are possible:

  • I sent the book to Bill ~ I sent Bill the book.
  • I sent the book to him. ~ I sent him the book.

but...

  • I sent it to Bill ~ *I sent Bill it.
  • I sent it to him. ~ *I sent him it.

In other words, the Dative Alternation cannot occur with two pronoun objects.
Another way to look at it is that pronoun objects should be separated by a marker like to,
because it's hard to keep them straight at normal conversational speeds.

John Lawler
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    It also appears that this is a fairly recent rule (so some of these constructions are archaic, to answer one of the OP's questions), and that it is being adopted in the U.S. slightly faster (or maybe more widely) than it is being adopted in the U.K. See Google Ngram. – Peter Shor Oct 03 '13 at 17:20
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All are arguably grammatical, but not all are equally common, or likely to be equally effective.

The most frequent pattern, according to the ‘Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English’ (LSGSWE) is direct object + to-phrase, as in She gave it to him, It was provided to her, I explained it to him, They granted it to her and Will you sell it to me?

She gave him it, It was provided her by the state, They granted her it and Will you sell me it? are on the pattern indirect object + direct object, and this pattern, according to the LSGSWE, occurs almost exclusively in conversation.

She gave it him, I explained it him, They granted it her and Will you sell it me are on a third pattern, direct object + indirect object. This pattern occurs in conversation and fiction, according to the LSGSWE, but is comparatively rare.

Barrie England
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