What are transitive verbs and intransitive verbs?
Transitive Verbs
A Transitive verb is a verb which requires an object in order to complete the sentence. That means the verb needs a direct object. The verb does not work on its own without an object.
For instance “Carry” is a transitive verb. The verb “Carry” demands an object and we cannot use it without an object.
Example:
- The girls carry …..
- The girls carry water from the river.
According to the above example, we can see the verb “carry” does not give a complete meaning without the object. “Water” is the direct object in the above sentence.
Examples for Transitive Verbs
- I bring
- She loves
- He took
- The people watched
- They met
Consider these verbs with direct objects.
- I bring a book. (The book is what I bring).
- She loves him. (He is the person who she loves )
- He took a pen. (Pen is what he took)
- The people watched teledramas. (Teledramas are what the people watched).
- They met my friends. (My friends are whom they met)
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs do not require an object in the sentence. It describes an action that does not happen to something or someone. That means it does not need to transfer action on an object in order to make sense. The sentence gives a complete meaning without an object in the sentence.
For instance “run” is an intransitive verb. You can run without transferring the action of running on a direct object. The verb is intransitive if we cannot answer the question “Who or what did the action of the verb happen to?”
Examples:
- He jumped. (What did he jump”? Nothing. There is no object receiving the action “jump”)
- She ran. (What did she ran? Nothing. There is no object receiving the action “ran”)
- I slept. (What did I sleep? Nothing. There is no object receiving the action “sleep”)
- When did they arrive? (What did they arrive? Nothing. There is no object receiving the action “arrive”)
- We laughed. (What did we laugh? Nothing. There is no object receiving the action “laugh”)
