The semantic role of an object of a verb

I've posted a question in English Language Learners as to this sentence:

Mom made me a sandwich.

The intended meaning was "Mom made a sandwich, intending it for me."

There, I came to realize that the indirect object 'me' is not involved in the action of the verb 'made' at all.

Is my realization correct?

If so, how is it that 'me' can be an object when it has nothing to do with the verb's action at all?

Is it merely because 'me' is an indirect object as opposed to a direct object? Or is it also possible that a direct object is not involved in the verb's action at all?

Solution 1:

The indirect object is very much involved: if your mother doesn’t make a sandwich, you don’t get to eat one.

An indirect object is the receiver of the action: the noun/pronoun to or for whom/which the action is performed. Mom does the work; you enjoy the sandwich. Grammatically, of course, it doesn’t matter if the action is real, supposed, or negated.

The board gave your proposal a thorough review.
Will Richard and Monica buy their daughter a new car?
John never tells his wife the truth.

Your proposal gets a review, the daughter may get a car, and John’s wife never gets the truth.

Solution 2:

Verbs can refer to many different kinds of concepts. The object of a verb, direct or indirect, does not have to be involved with or affected by an action.

Here is an example: "I hate zucchini noodles". This sentence describes how I feel about zucchini noodles. It could be true even if I have never interacted with zucchini noodles since I started hating them.

Another simple example is the verb "want": "I want that sandwich" describes my desire for the sandwich, not some action involving the sandwich.

Another example that is similar to yours, but that clearly involves a direct object is "I helped my parents make dinner by chopping vegetables." Here, the physical action that I am describing is chopping vegetables; "my parents", as the direct object of the verb help, refers to the beneficiary of my action. I could help my parents in this way without them being involved at all in my vegetable-chopping (e.g. maybe I do it while they're busy doing something else).

Some verbs allow me to be used the way you used it in your question, but others don't. The exact meaning of me will depend on the specific verb. Other verbs with similar semantics (because they refer at least in part to an action that can be taken in advance of the "intended" recipient actually receiving something) are bake (as in "I baked him a cake; it's in my car now") or send (as in "I sent them some postcards that should arrive next week").

As a side point, it is debated whether "me" in sentences like the one you describe should be called an "indirect object". This is a traditional term, but in English, "indirect objects" like this are very similar in many ways to "direct objects".