TRANSITIVE AND
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
I.Definition
A transitive verb is one that only makes sense if it exerts its action on an
object. A sentence with a transitive verb has subject +verb +direct object
An intransitive verb will make sense without exerting its action on object. A
sentence with an intransitive verb has subject and verb.
II. Distinguishing between transitive and intransitive verbs

a transitive verb describes an action that is
happening to something or someone, which is known as the
verb’s direct object.
To put it another way, the verb is transitive if a word or words in the
sentence answer the question “Who or what did the action of the verb
happen to?”

Example:
 I am presentingEnglish. (English is what I am presenting)
 They met your brother at the airport in Dubai.” (Your
brother is who they met.)
 Kelly is watchingthe movie.
 My friendcooksspaghetti.
 Peter is eatinga biscuit. (Peter is eating what? Peter is eating a
biscuit)
 Annyis readinga novel. (Anna is reading what? Anna is reading a
novel)
An intransitive verb, on the other hand, describes an action that
does not happen to something or someone.
Example:
 Daisy is sleeping.
 I arrived late.(arrived is describing an action, but there is nothing
and no one for that action to happen to—the action is complete
on its own. The verb is intransitive if we cannot answer the
question “Who or what did the action of the verb happen to?”)
 I can’t believe our dog ran away.” (What did the dog run away?
Nothing, there is no object receiving the action of ran away.)
 “There was a lot of dust in the air, which made me sneeze.”
(What did I sneeze? Nothing, there is no object receiving the
action of sneeze.)
 Students are listening.
 Caitlyn is running
Intransitive verbs with prepositional phrases (or adverbial phrase)
When intransitive verbs are modified by prepositional phrases, they can often
look like they are transitive because the preposition has its own object;
however, this is not the case.
Example:



I can’t believe our dog ran away from home.
“I sneezed from the dust.”
“The baby is sleeping in our room.”
It may seem like home, dust and our room are all objects of the verbs in these
sentences, but they’re actually objects of the prepositions, which together
form prepositional phrases that modify the verbs. The verbs remain
intransitive, regardless of the objects in prepositional phrases.

The door opened slowly
“slowly” in above example is an adverb of manner indicating how the
door was opened but not direct object.
Therefore, to find whether verb is transitive or intransitive verb, you first
say the subject and verb followed by the question what? or whom? If
there is an answer, it is a direct object for transitive verb, If not there is
intransitive verb
Mono-transitive, Ditransitive, and “Tritransitive” Verbs
As we’ve seen, a transitive verb is by definition a verb that takes an object. Most verbs
are mono-transitive, meaning they only take one object. However, some verbs, known
as ditransitive verbs, can take two objects in a sentence, while others, known
as tritransitive verbs, can take (or seem to take) three.
Mono-transitive Verbs
A verb that acts upon a single object in a sentence is referred to as monotransitive.
This single object is called its direct object.



“Jim just told a funny joke.”
“I’m making lasagna for dinner.”
“I heard she’s writing a novel.”
Ditransitive Verbs
There are some verbs in English that take two objects: a direct object and an indirect
object. These are known as ditransitive verbs. The direct object relates to the person
or thing that directly receives the action of the verb, while the indirect object relates to
the person or thing that indirectly receives or benefits from the action as a result.
The indirect object in a ditransitive verb can either come immediately before the direct
object in a sentence, or it can form the object of a prepositional phrase
using to or for that follows and modifies the direct object.
For example:

“He gave Mary a pen.” (The indirect object, Mary, immediately precedes the
direct object, a pen.)

“He gave a pen to Mary.” (The indirect object, Mary, forms the object of the
prepositional phrase to Mary, which follows and modifies the direct object, a
pen.)
or
Here are some other examples:


“She teaches the students mathematics.”
“She teaches mathematics to the students.”


“I sent my brother a letter.”
“I sent a letter to my brother.”

“My father baked our class a batch of cupcakes.”

“My father baked a batch of cupcakes for our class.”
Factitive Verbs
Factitive verbs are or appear to be ditransitive as well. Instead of having a direct object
that impacts on an indirect object, factitive verbs describe a status, category, quality, or
result that the direct object is becoming due to the action of the verb. This secondary
element can be either an object or object complement of the verb. For example:





“The American people elected her the president of the United States.”
“He was appointed Supreme Court justice.”
“The committee selected Mrs. Fuller chairman of the board.”
“The group designated Marshall the leader from then on.”
“The coach made Linda point guard.”
“Tritransitive” verbs
An unofficial third type of transitive verb is what’s sometimes known as a tritransitive
verb, meaning that it takes three objects. This third “object” is formed from a
prepositional phrase or clause that appears to receive the action of the verb by way of
the indirect object.
For example:



“We will make you CEO for $300,000.”
“I’d trade you that sandwich for an ice cream cone.”
“I bet you 50 bucks (that) our team will win the championship.”
There is some dispute among linguists, however, as to whether these kinds of verbs
truly have three objects, or whether the third piece of information is merely considered
an adjunct, as the sentence would be grammatically sound without it.
Quiz for self evaluation
Answers
Thank you for
ur attentions
Good bye
end