Top Tips Grammar: Transitive and Intransitive verbs and objects

Main points

*Intransitive verbs do not have an object.
*Transitive verbs have an object.
*Some verbs can be used with or without an object, depending on the situation or their meaning.

 

a) Many verbs do not normally have an object. They are called ‘intransitive’ verbs. They often refer to:

Existence	: appear, die, disappear, happen, live, remain
The human body	: ache, bleed, blush, faint, shiver, smile
Human noises	: cough, cry, laugh, scream, snore, speak, yawn
Light, smeel, vibration	: glow, shine, sparkle, stink, throb, vibrate
Position, movement	: arrive, come, depart, fall, flow, go, kneel, run, sit, sleep, stand, swim, wait, walk, work

- An awful thing has happened.
- The girl screamed.
- I waited.

Note that intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive.

 

b) Many verbs normally have an object. These verbs are called ‘transitive’ verbs. They are often connected with:

Physical object	: build, buy, carry, catch, cover, cut, destroy, hit, own, remove, sell, use, waste, wear
Senses	: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
Feelings	: admire, enjoy, fear, frighten, hate, like, love, need, prefer, surprise, trust, want
Facts, ideas	: accept, believe, correct, discuss, expect, express, forget, include, know, mean, remember, report
People	: address, blame, comfort, contact, convince, defy, kill, persuade, please, tease, thank, warn

- He hit the ball really hard.
- They both enjoyed the film.
- Don’t blame me.
- Did you see the rainbow?
- She reported the accident to the police.

Note that transitive verbs can be used in the passive.

- They were blamed for everything.

Remember that ‘have’ is a transitive verb, but cannot be used in the passive. You can say ‘I have a car’ but not ‘A car is had by me’.

 

c) Often, the people you are talking to, know what the object is because of the situation, or because it has already been mentioned. In this case you can omit the object, even though the verb is transitive.

accept	eat	paint	study
answer	explain	park	type
change	forget	phone	understand
choose	help	read	wash
clean	iron	remember	watch
cook	know	ride	write
draw	learn	sing
drive	leave	steal

- I don’t own a car. I can’t drive.
- You don’t smoke, do you?
- I asked a question and George answered.
- Both dresses are beautiful. It’s difficult to choose.

 

d) Many verbs have more than one meaning, and are transitive in one meaning and intransitive in another meaning. For example, the verb ‘run’ is intransitive when you use it to mean ‘move quickly’ but transitive when you use it to mean ‘manage or operate’.

call	manage	play	spread
fit	miss	run
lose	move	show

- The hare runs at enormous speed.
- She runs a hotel.
- She moved gracefully.
- The whole incident had moved her profoundly.

 

e) A few verbs are normally intransitive, but can be used with an object that is closely related to the verb.

dance (a dance)	dream (a dream)	live (a life)	smile (a smile)
die (a death)	laugh (a laugh)	sigh (a sigh)

- Steve smiled his thin, cruel smile.
- He appears to have lived the life of any other rich gentleman.
- I once dreamed a very nice dream.

 

 

 

 

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Top Tips Abz Ingles: Part A    -    Part B
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See also:

Words related to Failure to Cooperate	Irregular Verbs list
Common Phrasal Verbs	Common Slangs
Common misspellings	Regular vs Irregular Verbs
Common Errors	Frequently confused words
Common Slangs	Lista de Términos Gramaticales
Common Clichés	Common Prepositions

 

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