This post helps us understand what transitive and intransitive verbs in English are, and how to use them correctly in a sentence.
What is a transitive verb in English?
Transitive verb definition: a transitive verb is a main verb that has an object: a person or a thing. The object receives the action (transitive verb) and comes right after it. Without its object, it looks incomplete. So, always try to mention the object of a transitive verb.
Study the following examples using transitive verbs:
- I love my friends. (object = my friends)
- I will burn the papers in some time. (object = the papers)
- He studied Botany for 3 years. (object = Botany)
- Jon and I bought a house last week. (object = a house)
Notice the transitive verbs in the above examples (in bold) take an object after them (italicized). Now, imagine these sentence not having the object of these verbs.
I love.
I will burn in some time.
He studied for 3 years.
Jon and I bought last week.
Do these sentences look complete to you now? Do they not leave you with the question ‘what’? Love what? Burn what? Studied what? Bought what? You just can’t love. Someone or something needs to receive this action. You need something/someone to burn; we need an object to complete the action. Similarly, we study something and buy something. If someone makes these sentences where the object hasn’t been mentioned before already, it’s natural for us to ask the person, “but what?”.
That’s why it’s important to mention the object of the verb. For practice, I am giving a couple of sentences without the direct object of the verb. You need to complete the sentences by adding the direct object to the sentence. Share your answers in the comment section.
Practice 1!
- I want to give you.
- Jon is taking.
- Right after the party, we all called.
- You don’t know very well.
- Some of them do like no one does.
- Every person sitting in this room has tried at least once in their life.
- I did not learn very well.
- Some of us have in Mumbai.
- Why do you buy?
- You should have killed when you had?
A list of some transitive verbs in English
| eat drink chew cook cut study learn love hate watch see taste | teach learn write note erase appreciate hate envy praise feed cook burn | hug kiss touch seduce coax buy sell give push start end finish |
Examples of transitive verbs
| Verbs | Examples | object |
| Love | Everyone loves her. | her |
| Hate | I have never hated you. | you |
| Eat | My friend Monu can eat anything. | anything |
| Wash | He does not wash his clothes. | his clothes |
| Cut | Could you cut these vegetables for me? | these vegetables |
| Drink | I can’t drink this. It has alcohol in it. | this |
| Start | He has started doing his job seriously. | doing his job seriously |
| Finish | Did you finish the task you were working on? | the task |
| Appreciate | We appreciate your help. | your help |
| Like | She does not like to talk to strangers. | to talk to strangers |
| Seduce | Nobody can seduce her. | her |
| Note down | Can you note down this address for me? | this address |
| Hug | I always hug my parents before leaving for work. | my parents |
| Cook | Ashish can cook all types of cuisines. | all types of cuisines |
How to find a transitive verb?
To find out the transitive verb in a sentence is easy. Ask ‘what‘ or ‘whom‘ to the verb to find out the object of the verb. The answer to the question ‘what’ is always an object (non-living), and the answer to the question ‘whom’ is always a person.
If the verb answers any of the two questions, it is a transitive verb. But if it does not, it is not a transitive verb. Let’s take some examples and try this.
- She is cooking pasta for dinner.
Cooking ‘what’ = pasta
Cooking ‘whom’ = no answer (she won’t a person)
Asking what to the verb gets us the object of the verb ‘cook’ and tells us that it is a transitive verb.
- I did not invite Rashmi to the wedding.
Asking whom to the verb gets us its object: Rashmi. Whom did I not invite to the wedding? It is Rashmi (the object of the verb).
NOTE
A transitive verb can have two objects: the direct object and the indirect object. When a transitive verb has two objects, it answers both ‘what’ and ‘whom’.
Examples:
- She gifted me a phone on my last birthday.
gifted what = a phone (direct object)
gifted whom = me (indirect object)
- Could you pass Rohan this book?
pass what = this book (direct object)
pass whom = Rohan (indirect object)
- I won’t tell them anything.
tell what = anything (direct object)
tell whom = them (indirect object)
Verbs that take two objects are called ditransitive verbs in English.
A list of transitive verbs that can take two objects
| get give gift teach tell buy suggest ask show read | order buy bring hand promise throw sing serve sell owe |
Examples:-
- My father gifted me a car on my last birthday.
The verb gifted is ditransitive. It is followed by an indirect object (me) and a direct object (a car).
Gifted what = a car
Gifted whom = me
- She gave him some chocolates.
She gave what = some chocolates (Direct object)
She gave some chocolates to whom = him (Indirect object)
- Sing me a song, please!
sing ‘what’ = a song
sing ‘whom’ = me
What can be the object of a transitive verb?
This can help you identify and understand transitive verbs in a better way. The object of a transitive verb can be the following:
- Noun
- Pronoun
- Gerund
- Infinitive
Noun
- I love Aaru. (noun)
- I love my friends. (noun phrase)
- I love what you are eating. (noun clause)
Pronoun
- I love it.
- I love you.
Gerund
- I love teaching English. (gerund phrase)
- I hate eating boiled vegetables. (gerund phrase)
- Do you love swimming? (gerund)
Infinitive
- She likes to dance sometimes. (infinitive)
- She likes to correct people. (infinitive phrase)
What is an intransitive verb?
An intransitive is opposite to a transitive verb. Unlike a transitive verb, an intransitive can’t or don’t take a direct object.
Examples:
- I was sleeping when you called.
(Sleep is an intransitive verb; it can’t take an object. You can’t sleep something or somebody.)
- Why did you smile at that guy?
(Smile is an intransitive verb; you don’t smile something or somebody. You can do that at somebody or something. That guy is the object of the preposition ‘at’ here.)
- We laughed so hard during the match.
(You can’t laugh something or somebody. Laugh is an instransitive verb; it can’t be acted to a person or a thing.)
- Why are you crying?
(You can’t cry a person or a thing. It is not an action verb that can have a direct object.)
A list of some intransitive verbs
| sleep cry laugh whine sneeze smile fall listen subscribe yell shout pose stand go come cough scream | run sit swim vomit pee defecate sigh pout fume panic worry look jump arrive fly relax die |
Most intransitive verbs can’t take an object. But there are verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive verbs.
A list of verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive verbs
| Verbs | Transitive verbs | Intransitive verbs |
| Move | Can you move this to your room? | The car was moving fast. |
| Run | He is running this business well. | He was running fast in the park. |
| Change | Let’s change the plan. | He has changed. He is not the same person anymore. |
| Close | They closed the shop early. | The shop closes at 9 pm. |
| Open | Don’t open your eyes. I have something for you. | The shop opens at 8 am. |
| Stop | Can you stop yelling at me? | When the train stopped, we went outside and got something to eat. |
| Start | Stop her going there. | The movie started very late. |
| Do | We did what we could. | We did well in the game. |
Transitive vs Intransitive verbs
Both transitive and intransitive verbs are main verbs (usually action verbs) that function differently in a sentence. A transitive verb has a direct object that comes right after it, but an intransitive verb does not have a direct object. It either can’t have a direct object or does not have it in the sentence.
Transitive verb examples:
- I have never kissed my girlfriend.
- Jon is recording a video right now.
- He could have killed you if he wanted to.
- They envy me because of what I have achieved in life.
Intransitive verb examples:
- He is pouting.
- He sighed after the meeting ended.
- Everyone panicked when we lost the keys.
- He is not coming to the party.
Hope you enjoyed the lesson . Feel free to share your question, doubt, or feedback in the comment section, and also, share the post with the people that need it.
For one-on-one classes, contact me at [email protected].
Related video lessons:
Practice 2!
Find out transitive and intransitive verbs in the following sentences and share your answers in the comment section below!
- I want to tell you something.
- Why did you go there alone?
- What are you watching?
- Let me look into the matter.
- I have seen some things I shouldn’t have seen.
- He laughs like a mad man.
- The way you made him leave the room was mind-blowing.
- I don’t have anything for you right now.
- You can’t sit here.
- We slept early last night.
We, now, know what transitive and intransitive verbs are, how to use them distinctively, and how they are different from each other. Feel free to share your doubt, question, and feedback in the comment section. Also, share the lesson with others to help them.
Contact me (Gmail = [email protected]) for one-on-one classes.
