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I usually use a phrase such as:

(1) I ordered us a box.

Would it be more correct to say:

(2) I ordered for us a box.

Or, better still:

(3) I ordered a box for us.

Example 3 sounds the most correct, but are 1 and 2 improper English or are they perfectly valid in written form?

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    #2 sounds a bit central European, say, Yiddish? But it is not standard English. Could be some regionalism too.
    – Mitch
    Nov 27, 2012 at 18:35
  • @Mitch, I upvoted your comment, because I think you are correct in your assumptions :)
    – Michael Goldshteyn
    Nov 27, 2012 at 20:44

1 Answer 1

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(1) and (3) are equally grammatical, but (2) is ungrammatical. Order is a ditransitive verb, which means it can be followed by an indirect and a direct object as in (1), but it is possible to replace the direct object with a prepositional phrase, as in (3).

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