Grammar
Transitive and intransitive verbs
A sentence can feel unfinished for a simple reason: some verbs need something after them, while others already give a complete idea. Compare The courier delivered the parcel with The courier arrived. The parcel receives the action. Arrived does not need an object.
Identify whether a verb has a direct object and use common transitive, intransitive, and flexible verbs in clear sentences.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
The train arrived at the station. /ðə treɪn əˈraɪvd ət ðə ˈsteɪ.ʃən/
The short answer
Use a transitive verb with a direct object. Use an intransitive verb without a direct object. Some verbs can work in either pattern, depending on the meaning of the sentence.
The mechanic fixed the bicycle, but the bicycle did not move afterward.
Why it works: Fixed is transitive because the bicycle receives the action. Did not move is intransitive because no direct object follows move.
5 more examples
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The chef chopped the vegetables before lunch.
The vegetables receive the action of chopping, so chopped is transitive in this sentence.
Not this:The chef
laughedbefore lunch. What changes: Laughed gives a complete action without a direct object, so it is intransitive here. -
The audience applauded the singers at the end.
The singers are directly affected by the applause, so they are the object of applauded.
Not this:The audience
applaudedfor several minutes. What changes: Here applauded has no direct object. For several minutes gives time, not an object. -
Nadia opened the window when the room became warm.
Nadia causes the action, and the window is the direct object of opened.
Not this:The window
openedwhen the wind became stronger. What changes: Opened has no object here. The window is the subject that changes state. -
We discussed the budget after the meeting.
The budget is the direct object. Discuss usually takes its topic directly.
Not this:We
talked about the budgetafter the meeting. What changes: About the budget follows a preposition. It is not a direct object of talked. -
The child carried a bowl carefully across the kitchen.
A bowl receives the action of carrying, so carried is transitive.
Not this:The child
sleptpeacefully after lunch. What changes: Peacefully and after lunch add information, but neither is a direct object. Slept is intransitive.
Read the full guide
Find the main verb first, then ask a practical question: what or whom did the action affect? If the answer is a noun phrase without a preposition, it is often the direct object. In The team discussed the plan, the plan is the object. In The team talked about the plan, about the plan is a prepositional phrase, not a direct object.
Find the action and what it affects
A manager says, Please print the schedule. Print is the action. The schedule is the thing affected by that action, so it is the direct object. A verb with this pattern is transitive. Start with the complete sentence instead of trying to memorize a long list of labels.
Please print the schedule before noon.
The schedule answers the question print what? It is the direct object.
What is the direct object in The nurse checked the temperature?
The temperature. It answers checked what? and receives the action of checked.
Recognize a complete verb without an object
Some verbs already make a complete statement without acting directly on a person or thing. People laugh, children sleep, and trains arrive. These are intransitive patterns. You can add time, place, or manner, but those additions do not become direct objects.
The guests arrived after midnight.
After midnight tells us when the guests arrived. It does not answer arrived what?
The baby slept in the car.
In the car tells us where the sleeping happened. The sentence has no direct object.
Is the museum a direct object in We arrived at the museum?
No. At introduces a place phrase. Arrived is complete without a direct object.
Separate objects from prepositional phrases
A preposition often comes before a place, person, or topic. That noun may look close to the verb, but it is not a direct object. Compare discuss the report with talk about the report. The report is the object of discuss. In the second sentence, it belongs inside the phrase about the report.
We discussed the report during lunch.
The report is directly after discussed, so it is the direct object. During lunch only gives time.
We spoke to the editor during lunch.
To the editor is a prepositional phrase. The editor is not a direct object of spoke.
Which verb takes its topic directly: discuss the issue or talk about the issue?
Discuss takes the issue directly. Talk uses about before its topic in this pattern.
Use verbs that can change pattern
Some verbs can appear with or without a direct object. With open, a person can cause the change, or the subject can change by itself. The pattern changes the focus. Do not assume that a verb has only one label in every sentence.
Jamal closed the gate before the storm.
The gate is the object, so closed is transitive in this sentence.
The gate closed in the wind.
The gate is now the subject. Closed has no direct object, so the pattern is intransitive.
Which sentence is transitive: The lights changed, or The technician changed the lights?
The technician changed the lights. The lights are the direct object of changed.
Keep linking information separate from objects
After be, seem, become, or some uses of smell and look, the next word may describe the subject instead of receiving an action. In The soup smells wonderful, wonderful describes the soup. It is a subject complement, not a direct object. This check prevents you from calling every following noun or adjective an object.
The soup smelled unusual after the power cut.
Unusual describes the soup. It does not name something the soup smelled.
The room became quiet after the announcement.
Quiet describes the room after became. It is not the object of became.
In The coffee tastes bitter, does bitter receive an action?
No. Bitter describes the coffee. Tastes links the subject to that description.
Test the pattern before you write
Before you add a noun after a verb, read the whole sentence and ask what job that noun has. Is it directly affected? Does a preposition introduce it? Does it describe the subject? For a transitive verb, a passive sentence can sometimes help you notice the object: The team solved the problem becomes The problem was solved. Use this as a check, not as a reason to force a passive sentence.
The team solved the problem before lunch.
The problem is a direct object and can become the subject of The problem was solved.
The team rested before lunch.
Rested has no direct object here, so there is no ordinary passive version with the team as an object.
Which noun can become the subject of a passive sentence: The team solved the problem?
The problem. It is the direct object in the active sentence.
Before you go
Remember this
A transitive verb acts on a direct object: repair the screen, discuss the plan. An intransitive verb has no direct object: arrive, laugh, sleep. Some verbs, including open and close, can be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another. Check the pattern in the sentence before adding an object.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Transitive and intransitive verbs"
What is a transitive verb?
A transitive verb has a direct object, the person or thing directly affected by the action. In The driver parked the car, the car is the direct object of parked.
The chef chopped the vegetables before lunch.
What is an intransitive verb?
An intransitive verb does not have a direct object. In The baby laughed, laughed gives a complete idea. You can add time or place, as in The baby laughed after lunch, without adding an object.
The chef laughed before lunch.
Can one verb be both transitive and intransitive?
Yes. Many verbs can use both patterns. In Priya opened the box, opened is transitive because box is its object. In The box opened, opened is intransitive because there is no direct object.
The audience applauded the singers at the end.
Is a noun after a preposition a direct object?
No. A noun after a preposition belongs to a prepositional phrase. In We arrived at the station, station follows at, so it is not the direct object of arrived.
The audience applauded for several minutes.
How can I identify a direct object?
Find the verb and ask what or whom the action directly affects. In The editor corrected the article, the article answers corrected what? A passive version can also help: The article was corrected.
Nadia opened the window when the room became warm.