What are transitive verbs?

Transitive verbs are action verbs that have an object to receive that action. In the first
sentence above, the direct object ball received the action of the verb hit.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs:

I baked some cookies.

I rode the bicycle.
I moved the chair.
I stitched a quilt.

All of the verbs in the above sentences are transitive because an object is receiving the
action of the verb.

But what about the sentence “The bird sang.” Is the verb in that sentence a transitive
verb? No, in this case the verb sang is an intransitive verb.

What are intransitive verbs?

Intransitive verbs are action verbs but unlike transitive verbs, they do not have an object
receiving the action. Notice there are no words after the verb sang.

More examples of intransitive verbs:

I laughed.
I cried.
The book fell.
The horse galloped.
The sun set.

In all of the above cases the subject is performing the action of the verb and nothing is
receiving the action.

What about this sentence?

I walked to the park today.

Is walked transitive or intransitive? Think about the rules. Since walked has words
coming after it, the verb must be transitive, right? WRONG! The phrase to the park is a
prepositional phrase and today is an adverb. There is no object receiving the action of
the verb walked so the verb is intransitive.

To recap, a transitive verb must be an action verb plus there must be an object to
receive that action.
The Intransitive Verb

Recognize an intransitive verb when you see one.

An intransitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a

doable activity like arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, die, etc. Second, unlike a transitive verb, it
will not have a direct object receiving the action.

Here are some examples of intransitive verbs:

Huffing and puffing, we arrived at the classroom door with only seven seconds to spare.

Arrived = intransitive verb.

James went to the campus cafe for a steaming bowl of squid eyeball stew.

Went = intransitive verb.

To escape the midday sun, the cats lie in the shade under our cars.

Lie = intransitive verb.

Around fresh ground pepper, Sheryl sneezes with violence.

Sneezes = intransitive verb.

In the evenings, Glenda sits on the front porch to admire her immaculate lawn.

Sits = intransitive verb.

Flipped on its back, the beetle that Clara soaked with insecticide dies under the
refrigerator.

Dies = intransitive verb.

Realize that many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.

An action verb with a direct object is transitive while an action verb with no direct object
is intransitive. Some verbs, such as arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, and die, are always
intransitive; it is impossible for a direct object to follow.

Other action verbs, however, can be transitive or intransitive, depending on what follows
in the sentence. Compare these examples:

Because of blood sugar problems, Rosa always eats before leaving for school.
Eats = intransitive verb.

If there is no leftover pizza, Rosa usually eats whole-grain cereal.

Eats = transitive verb; cereal = direct object.

During cross-country practice, Damien runs over hills, through fields, across the river,
and along the highway.

Runs = intransitive verb.

In the spring, Damien will run his first marathon.

Will run = transitive verb; marathon = direct object.

The word transitive comes from the Latin "to go across."

Intransitive means not transitive.

Examples of transitive verbs (the transitive verb is green and bold, the direct object is brown):

 Could you bring an umbrella?

 They bought a yacht.

 I read all his books.

 He teaches driving.

 You promised to take us home.

 She plays the drums.

Examples of intransitive verbs (the intransitive verb is green and bold):

 Let's go.

 The kids are jumping.

 Sam is sleeping.
  We will talk tomorrow.

 He sits here.

 Her stomach aches sometimes after lunch.

Many English verbs can be used both as transitive and intransitive verbs.

Now, what does that mean?

It means that you can use them with a direct object, or without, depending on the sentence.

For example:
 We won!
 We won the game!

Both of these sentences are correct. The verb "won" is intransitive in the first sentence, and transitive in
the second one.

Some more examples (transitive verbs are green, intransitive verbs are brown):
 Nicole opened the door.
 Suddenly, the doors opened.

 Will you help us? 

 She never helps around the house.

 Jimmy runs a successful company.

 Jimmy runs very fast.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

This exercise was written by Erin Billy.

The Difference Between Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

My sister broke the window.

My father cried.

Can you figure out the difference between the verbs (broke, cried) in the above sentences? I'm
not talking about the meaning, I'm talking about the grammar. In other words, how are these two
verbs grammatically different?
We should notice that the first verb, broke, has another word after it. The second verb, cried,
does not have another word after it. Generally speaking, we can say that all verbs in English can
be divided into two groups--those that must have a word (or words) after them and words that do
not have to have any word after them.

This rule is simplified right now, but we will learn more later. For now, let's just focus on the
simple ideas.

Let's look at the two different kinds of verbs.

Transitive Verbs

My sister broke the window.

In the first sentence, the word that comes after the verb, window, is the object of the verb. We
say that window is the object because it receives the action of the verb. All objects of verbs
receive the action of the verb.

Here are some more examples of transitive verbs with their objects:

 I sold some books.

 I took the bus.

 I bought a radio.

 I understood her question.

 I wrote a letter.

When a verb has an object that receives the action of the verb, we say that the verb is transitive.
Transitive verbs are more common on the TOEFL than intransitive verbs, but many students get
confused about intransitive verbs.

Let's look at the other kind of verb now.

Intransitive Verbs
My father cried.

We can see in this sentence that there is no word after cried. In other words, there is no object
for the word, so there is no noun to receive the action of the word. Think about it--what could we
say? My father cried something. Is there a noun that we could use after cried? We could
probably think of one or two nouns, like tears, or even, good-bye, but normally, we do not use
the verb cry with an object.

In this case we say that this verb is intransitive because it does not have an object after it.
Here are some more examples of intransitive verbs:

 I slept.
 I coughed.

 The glass fell.

 My cat ran.

 The sun rose.

We should notice that in each case, the subject is doing the action of the verb and nothing
receives the action.