Transitive and Intransitive Verbs.

English is the official universal language. It is, by far, the language of international trade, finance, diplomacy, etc. It is used not only in English spoken countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and The United Kingdom but worldwide. It has a rich vocabulary, with many words borrowed from other languages. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn because: (1) its widespread use in many countries; (2) its alphabet only consists of 26 letter; (3) its relatively simple grammar; (4) the vast selection of English resources to learn from, including TV shows, radio, movies, videogames, music, podcasts, books, apps, and websites.

Language is fluid and constantly evolves and, as such, it grows and changes over time. Grammar is the rationale of a language; usage is its etiquette, and master grammar is not easy. Grammar is the system of a language, the body of rules that describe the structure of sentences, phrases, clauses, and words in any given language.

A verb is a word that describes a physical action (e.g., walk, run, drive, study), a mental action (e.g., think, ponder, consider, analyze), occurrence (e.g., the weather was hot, humid, and rainy yesterday) or a state of being (e.g., he is so kind and sensitive, they are happily married and have three adorable kids). There are two main kind of verbs: transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs are verbs that require a direct object that receives the action. They are verbs that are followed by a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase (the object) that refers to the person or thing affected by the action of the verb and so completes the sentence’s meaning.

Some examples include:

• Let Spotify suggest you a song. Suggest is the verb and song is the direct object.

• I wrote a poem. Write is the verb and poem is the direct object.
• I sold my old car.
• She took the bus.
• She told me a story.
• She described her counsellor in college as “the greatest.”

You can always find the direct object of a transitive verb by asking what? or whom?

For instance, I wrote a poem. Q: What did I write? A: A poem. Poem is the direct object. You cannot just say “I wrote.” It is incorrect, you need to write “something.”

Another example is this sentence: She told me a story. Q: What did she tell you? A: A story. Story is the direct object.

An intransitive verb is a verb that does not have or take a direct object. It is not done to someone or something. It does not require an object to act upon and complete its meaning in the sentence. They are often followed by prepositional or adverbial phrases that give us more information about the verb and answer questions such as where?, when?, how?, or how long? Some examples are:

• She sings beautifully and everyone loves her. Beautifully is an adverb that modifies or describes the verb “sings”. It describes how she sings.
• The dog is lying on the floor. On the floor is a prepositional phrase. It modifies the verb “lying”. It tells us where the dog is lying.
• I cried for you on the kitchen floor.
• I sat down and fell asleep.
• He died with his eyes open.
• He disappeared into thin air.
• I slept all night and day.

The golden rule is this: Transitive verbs have passive forms, e.g., a poem was written by me, a song was suggested by Spotify. Intransitive verbs do not have passive forms. For example, “I fell asleep” and “I sat on the edge of my bed” are correct, but “I was fallen asleep” or “I was sat on the edge of my bed” are obviously incorrect.

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