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, the 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 andtoday 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.
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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 itreceives 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:
o I sold some books.
o I took the bus.
o I bought a radio.
o I understood her question.
o 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 aftercried? 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 nothave an object after it.
Here are some more examples of intransitive verbs:
o I slept.
o I coughed.
o The glass fell.
o My cat ran.
o The sun rose.
We should notice that in each case, the subject is doing the action of the verb and nothing receives the
action.
Espaol:
Verbos transitivos
Mi hermana rompi la ventana.
En la primera frase , la palabra que viene despus del verbo , de la ventana, es el objeto del verbo . Se
dice que la ventana es el objeto debido a que recibe la accin del verbo . Todos los objetos de los verbos
reciben la accin del verbo.
Aqu hay algunos ejemplos de verbos transitivos con sus objetos.
Vend algunos libros.
Tom el autobs .
He comprado una radio.
Entend su pregunta.
Le escrib una carta .
Cuando un verbo tiene un objeto que recibe la accin del verbo , es decir que el verbo es transitivo. Los
verbos transitivos son ms comunes en el TOEFL de verbos intransitivos , pero muchos estudiantes se
confunden sobre los verbos intransitivos .
Echemos un vistazo a otro tipo de verbo ahora .

Los verbos intransitivos
-Grit mi padre.
Podemos ver en esta frase que no hay una palabra despus de llorar. En otras palabras , no hay ningn
objeto para la palabra , lo que no es sustantivo para recibir la accin de la palabra . Piense en esto - qu
podramos decir? Mi padre grit algo. Hay un nombre que podramos usar despus llorado ?
Probablemente podramos pensar en una o dos sustantivos , como lgrimas , o incluso , de despedida ,
pero por lo general , no utilizar el grito verbo con un objeto.
En este caso decimos que este verbo es intransitivo , ya que no tiene un objeto despus .
Aqu hay algunos ejemplos de verbos intransitivos :
Dorm .
Tos .
El vaso cay.
Mi gato corri.
El sol sali .
Debemos notar que, en cada caso, el sujeto est haciendo la accin del verbo y nada recibe la accin.
1. She was crying all day long. Transitive
2. We showed her the photo album. Intransitive
3. The doctor advised me to exercise regularly. Transitive
4. It was raining at that time. Intransitive
5. She laughed at the joke. Intransitive
6. She gave a cookie to the child. Transitive
7. They slept in the street. Intransitive
8. I ate the cherries. Intransitive
9. My father doesn't drink coffee. Transitive .
10. He always keeps his money in a wallet. Transitive
1. Lloraba todo el da.
2. Le mostramos el lbum de fotos.
3. El mdico me aconsej hacer ejercicio con regularidad.
4. Estaba lloviendo en ese momento.
5. Ella se ri de la broma.
6. Ella le dio una galleta para el nio.
7. Durmieron en la calle.
8. Me com las cerezas.
9. Mi padre no bebe caf.
10. l siempre mantiene su dinero en la billetera.