ESL Blogs

TRANSITIVE

he meaning of a transitive verb is incomplete without a direct object, as in the following examples:

COMPLETE

The shelf holds three books and a vase of flowers.

COMPLETE

The committee named a new chairperson.

.

COMPLETE

The child broke the plate.

.

Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive,

depending on their context in the sentence. In the following pairs of sentences, the first sentence uses the verb transitively and the second uses the same verb intransitively:

transitive

According to the instructions, we must leave this goo in our

 hair for twenty minutes.

In this example, the verb "leave" takes a direct object,

 the noun phrase "this goo."

transitive

The audience attentively watched the latest production of

The Trojan Women.

In this example, the verb "watch" is used transitively and

takes the noun phrase "the latest production of The

 Trojan Women" as a direct object.

.

transitive

Every spring, William moves all boxes and trunks

 from one side of the attic to the other.

In this sentence "moves" is used as a transitive verb

 and takes the noun phrase "all the boxes and trunk"

as a direct object.

Written by Heather MacFadyen

INTRANSITIVE

INCOMPLETE

The shelf holds

INCOMPLETE

The committee named

INCOMPLETE

The child broke.

An intransitive verb, on the other hand, cannot take a direct object:

This plant has thrived on the south windowsill.

The compound verb "has thrived" is intransitive and takes no direct object in this sentence.

The prepositional phrase "on the south windowsill" acts as an adverb describing where the plant thrives.

The sound of the choir carried through the cathedral.

The verb "carried" is used intransitively in this sentence and takes no direct object.

The prepositional phrase "through the cathedral" acts as an adverb describing where the sound carried.

The train from Montreal arrived four hours late.

The intransitive verb "arrived" takes no direct object,

 and the noun phrase "four hours late" acts as an adverb

 describing when the train arrived.

intransitive

We would like to stay longer, but we must leave.

In this example, the verb "leave" does not take a direct object.

intransitive

The cook watched while the new dishwasher surreptitiously

picked up the fragments of the broken dish.

In this example, the verb "watched" is used intransitively

 and takes no direct object.

intransitive

The crowd moves across the field in an attempt

 to see the rock star get into her helicopter.

Here the verb "moves" is used as an intransitive verb

and takes no direct object