Final answer:
The correct answer is option (a) because 'some patients' is the direct object that the verb 'leaves' acts upon. There is no indirect object in the sentence. 'A unique condition' is part of a prepositional phrase that describes the state of the patients.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the sentence "Modern medicine leaves some patients in a unique condition," the subject is 'Modern medicine', and the transitive verb is 'leaves'. The direct object, which receives the action of the verb, is 'some patients'. There is no indirect object in this sentence because nothing is being transferred to a recipient. An indirect object would be a noun or pronoun that receives the direct object. In this case, 'in a unique condition' is a prepositional phrase modifying 'some patients' and does not act as an indirect object.
Therefore, the correct answer to the question is option (a) Direct object: patients; Indirect object: none (as it is not applicable). The direct object 'patients' clearly receives the action of 'leaves', while 'a unique condition' is not an object but part of the prepositional phrase explaining the state in which the patients are left. The answer is option a.