Identification of a transitive and an intransitive verb in a sentence is super easy if one knows to differentiate between direct and indirect objects.
Transitive Verb
Transitive verbs are those action verbs which are always followed by direct objects.
Let’s look at the following examples.
Last night, I kicked the football out of the ground.
I = Subject; Kicked = Verb and football = Object.
To identify the verb either transitive or intransitive, first, we need to find out whether the object right after the verb is a direct object or an indirect one. A direct object always answers “What and Whom”. In this case, the object, football, is the direct object, therefore, without further thinking, we can say that “Kicked” is a transitive verb.
He has bought a white cap from the market.
Bought = Transitive Verb; white cap = direct object.'
He always skips his classes due to his company.
Skips = transitive verb; his classes = direct object. [What does he skip? He skips his classes.]
She hates him since when he has betrayed her.
Hates = transitive verb; him = direct object. [She hates whom? She hates him.]
Intransitive Verb
On the other hand, an intransitive verb is also an action verb but it does not have a direct object to receive the action. It is always followed by an indirect object. It is often followed by a prepositional phrase. If a verb is not followed by a direct object, it can never be a transitive verb.
Let’s look at the following examples.
Zara was sitting in the shade of a tree.
Sitting = Intransitive verb, in the shade = prepositional phrase.
He came to the school after a week.
Came = Intransitive verb; to the school = prepositional phrase.
Aslam gave my friend a gift.
In the example, the verb “gave” is followed by an indirect object.
Gave = Intransitive verb; my friend = indirect object. [Aslam gave a gift to whom? Aslam gave a gift to my friend.]
He was running over the desks in the classroom.
Running = Intransitive verb; over the desks = prepositional phrase.
To conclude, a verb can be transitive or intransitive depending on whether followed by a direct object or not.
Hi, my name is Asher Kabir. I'm the founder, writer and designer behind this blog. My passion is to help local students in science and to spread the knowledge of the Quran in term of science.
As a language arts instructor and reading/writing specialist, your post put a smile on my face. Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's been a long time since I learned this in English class.
ReplyDeleteThis is a refresher course for me! I sometimes guilty of this :D
ReplyDeleteWow, this site really breaks the information down so that it's super easy to understand. I wish I had it for reference 20 years ago when I was in college.
ReplyDeleteFeeling nostalgic and remembering my English teacher. I will share this with other kids who will find it really helpful
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I never learned that in school as english is not my birth language.. It's great to have a good old spellcheck on but it wont fix the grammar mistakes:)
ReplyDeletethe post is simply amazing to refresh my English! Thank you for the tips, they are really helpful!
ReplyDeleteZina :)
DeleteI'm an English teacher. I must say that this topic often confuses my students. Haha! I'll send them this link! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThis very helpful and a nice review for everyone who getting confusion with the use on transitive and intrasitive verb. Sharing your post too my students.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have problems when it comes to the use of transitive and intransitive verbs. This post is quite helpful and serves as a reminder for some of us that may have forgotten. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh how I wish I could make this required reading for everyone! It always shocks me how few people actually understand what's going on in English....even though it's their native language!
ReplyDelete