Transitive and Intransitive verbs

Action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. The details of these two are given below.

Action verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. The details of these two are given below.

1. Transitive Verbs

Verbs with an object, in other words, the verbs that have an object, are called transitive verbs. That object may be a person or a thing that is affected by the action of the verb. There can be the passive form of the transitive verb.

Examples:

• Rohan hits the ball. (Here 'hits' is the transitive verb that affects the object 'the ball')
• My dog ate my homework. (here 'ate' is the transitive verb followed by the object 'my homework')
• Mehak sang a beautiful song.(here 'sang' is a transitive verb followed by an object 'a beautiful song')
• The pilot landed the plane safely. (Here 'landed' is the transitive verb followed by the object 'plane')
• I enjoy my science lessons. (here 'enjoy' is the transitive verb followed by the object 'my science lesson')
• The shot sank the ship. (here 'sank' is the transitive verb followed by the object 'the ship')
• Do you see the pole star? ( here 'see' is the transitive verb followed by the object 'the pole star')

A transitive verb also may have two objects 'direct object' (the thing someone does or gives or usually the name of the thing), and 'indirect object' (someone who receives the action, in other words, the person to whom something is given or for whom something is done).

Examples:

• Kiran gave me a pen. (Here, 'pen' is the direct object and 'me' is the indirect object.
• My mother gave me a watch. (here 'watch' is the direct object and 'me' is the indirect object)
• My friend told me a secret. (Here, 'secret' is the direct verb, and 'me' is the indirect verb.

Some more examples of the transitive verb

• Rohan was painting the wall.
• Reena cooked a sandwich.
• Ram and Shyam were reading a book.
• John sent an email to his friend.
• Sunil opened the door.
• I visited my friend.
• Someone rang the door.

2. Intransitive Verb

The verb without an object, in other words, the verb that doesn't have an object, is called an intransitive verb. There cannot be the passive form of an intransitive verb.

Examples:

• We sing so well.
• They went home early.
• Some TV programs are very
• He swims
• The train stopped.
• Rani keeps her things neatly.
• The children were
• All the birds
• Rohan was
• Reena
• Ram and Shyam were

Some important points about transitive and intransitive verb

• Some verbs may be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another.

Examples:

She cooked slowly. (Here, the verb 'cooked' has no object, and it cannot be passivized, so it is intransitive).

She cooked a sandwich. (Here, the verb 'cooked' has an object 'sandwich', and it can be passivized, so it is a transitive verb).

Some ants fight very fiercely. (Intransitive)

Some ants fought the wasps. (Transitive)

The bus stopped suddenly. (Intransitive)

The driver stopped the bus. (Transitive)

Ram spoke loudly. (Intransitive)

Ram spoke the truth. (Transitive)

• In the sentence 'he killed himself,' the subject and the object both refer to the same person. Here the verb is used reflexively, so there is no object, and it cannot be passivized. Therefore it is
• Some verbs can be used reflexively and also as transitive verbs.

Examples:

I enjoy myself sitting alone. (Intransitive)

He enjoys good health. (Transitive)