Transitive and intransitive verbs
Learn the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs with a simple object test, clear examples and common mistakes.
In this lesson
A transitive verb needs a direct object to complete its meaning, for example “The girls carry water.” An intransitive verb does not take an object, for example “He jumped.” To check, ask “what?” or “whom?” after the verb. If the sentence gives an answer, the verb is transitive. If it does not, the verb is intransitive.
Key point
A transitive verb passes its action to an object (She loves him). An intransitive verb does not need an object, and the sentence is complete without one (I slept).
What is a transitive verb?
A transitive verb is a verb that needs an object to complete the sentence. This object is called the direct object. It is the person or thing that receives the action of the verb. Without it, the verb does not work on its own and the sentence feels unfinished.
For example, carry is a transitive verb. It demands an object, so we cannot use it alone. Compare these two sentences:
Examples
- The girls carry … (incomplete: carry what?)
- The girls carry water from the river. (complete)
The first sentence does not give a complete meaning. In the second sentence, water is the direct object. It tells us what the girls carry.
Examples of transitive verbs
Each of these sentence beginnings is incomplete. The listener wants to know what or whom:
- I bring …
- She loves …
- He took …
- The people watched …
- They met …
Now look at the same verbs with direct objects. Each sentence is now complete.
| Sentence | Direct object | What the object tells us |
|---|---|---|
| I bring a book. | a book | The book is what I bring. |
| She loves him. | him | He is the person she loves. |
| He took a pen. | a pen | The pen is what he took. |
| The people watched teledramas. | teledramas | Teledramas are what the people watched. |
| They met my friends. | my friends | My friends are the people they met. |
Several of these examples use past forms such as took, watched and met. If you need to revise them, see our lessons on regular and irregular verbs and the simple past tense.
Tip
An object pronoun straight after the verb (me, you, him, her, it, us, them) is a quick sign that the verb is transitive: She loves him. I like it.
What is an intransitive verb?
An intransitive verb does not need an object. It describes an action that does not happen to someone or something. The action stays with the subject, so the sentence makes complete sense without an object.
For example, run is often an intransitive verb. You can run without running “something”. A verb is intransitive when you cannot answer the question “Who or what did the action happen to?” In each sentence below, the verb is intransitive.
Examples
- He jumped. (What did he jump? Nothing. No object receives the action jump.)
- She ran. (What did she run? Nothing. No object receives the action run.)
- I slept. (What did I sleep? Nothing. No object receives the action sleep.)
- When did they arrive? (What did they arrive? Nothing. No object receives the action arrive.)
- We laughed. (What did we laugh? Nothing. No object receives the action laugh.)
The question When did they arrive? shows that the rule works in questions too. Our lesson on Wh- questions and question words explains how these questions are formed.
Words that often follow intransitive verbs
An intransitive verb can still have words after it, such as an adverb or a phrase that starts with a preposition. These words tell us how, when, where or how long. They are not direct objects.
Examples
- She ran quickly. (how)
- I slept for eight hours. (how long)
- They arrived at the station. (where)
- We laughed at the joke. (at what)
Common mistake
They arrived the station. → They arrived at the station.
Arrive is intransitive, so it cannot take a direct object. Use arrive at for a building or place and arrive in for a town, city or country.
Can a verb be both transitive and intransitive?
Yes. Many common verbs can be used in both ways. Sometimes the meaning stays the same, and sometimes it changes a little. Look for the object, or the missing object, in each sentence.
| Verb | Intransitive (no object) | Transitive (with an object) |
|---|---|---|
| eat | We ate at seven. | We ate rice and curry. |
| read | She reads every evening. | She reads the newspaper. |
| open | The door opened. | He opened the door. |
| run | She ran. | She runs a small shop. (= manages) |
| jump | He jumped. | He jumped the fence. (= jumped over) |
Note
Learner dictionaries show how each verb is used. The Cambridge Dictionary marks verbs [T] for transitive and [I] for intransitive, and the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries use the labels transitive and intransitive. One verb often has both labels for different meanings. See, for example, the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries entry for “transitive”.
How do you test a verb in a sentence?
Use these four steps whenever you are not sure:
- Find the verb.
- Ask “what?” or “whom?” straight after it: She loves … whom?
- If a noun or pronoun answers the question (him), that word is the direct object, so the verb is transitive.
- If there is no answer, or only information about how, when or where, the verb is intransitive.
Common mistake
We discussed about the problem. → We discussed the problem.
Discuss is transitive, so the object comes straight after the verb, with no preposition. The same is true of enter (enter the room), reach (reach the city) and marry (marry someone).
Why does it matter? The passive voice
Only transitive verbs can be made passive, because the passive moves the object to the front of the sentence. The girls carry water can become Water is carried by the girls. An intransitive verb such as sleep or arrive has no object, so it has no passive form. You can learn more in our lesson on how to form the passive voice.
For more examples of verbs that always, sometimes or never take an object, read the Cambridge Dictionary guide to verbs with and without objects.
Summary
- A transitive verb needs a direct object: The girls carry water.
- An intransitive verb has no object: He jumped. We laughed.
- Ask “what?” or “whom?” after the verb to test it.
- Many verbs, such as eat, read and open, can be both.
- Only transitive verbs have a passive form.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a transitive and an intransitive verb?
A transitive verb needs a direct object to complete its meaning, as in “He took a pen.” An intransitive verb does not take a direct object, as in “She ran.”
Is “sleep” transitive or intransitive?
Sleep is usually intransitive. We say “I slept for eight hours”, but we do not sleep “something”. The words for eight hours tell us how long, so they are not an object.
Can an intransitive verb be followed by a preposition?
Yes. Many intransitive verbs are followed by a preposition and a noun, as in arrive at the station, laugh at the joke or listen to music. The noun belongs to the preposition, not directly to the verb.
How can I check if a verb is transitive?
Ask “what?” or “whom?” after the verb. If a noun or pronoun answers the question, the verb is transitive. You can also look for the [T] or [I] label in a learner dictionary.
Can a transitive verb have two objects?
Yes. Some verbs, such as give, send and show, can take two objects: “She gave me a book.” Here a book is the direct object and me is the indirect object.
