Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Verbs can be classified as

transitive or intransitive

Depending on the type

of object they
take, verbs may be
transitive, intransitive.
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs do not
take direct objects.

An INTRANSITIVE verb is
an action verb. It is usually
Examples: followed by a word or
Peter's situation phrase which answers the
improved. questions: why? when?
They slept peacefully. where? or how?
 Practice Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

# vi or vt Verb
1. run
2. live
3. throw
4. sell
5. eat
6. result
7. evolve
8. research
9. happen
10. feed
11. exist
12. result
•The mailman delivered the letter next door.
1. a intransitive
2. b transitive
 James calls his friends on the weekends
1. intransitive
2. transitive
• The children played in the morning.
• intransitive
• transitive
• The Marlins lost their last game.
• intransitive
• transitive
• My mother usually makes coffee in
the morning.
• intransitive
• transitive
• Andres went to the beach last
Sunday.
• intransitive
• transitive
• They stood in line for hours
waiting for the doors to open.
• intransitive
• transitive
• He showed us his wedding
album.
• intransitive
• transitive
• The teacher arrived because it was
time for the class to begin.
• intransitive
• transitive
• Tom forgot his homework at home.
• intransitive
• transitive
• When will you teach us the new
vocabulary?
• intransitive
• transitive
• I. Tell which of the following verbs
are transitive and which are
intransitive.

Anne loves her mother.

• The golden gate opened.
• The moon silvers the distant hills.
• Mary found her ring.
• James writes poetry.
• The snow melts.
• The icy chains break.
• The innocent lamb died.
• The children played.
• The children played a game.
• Doris was elected president of the class.
• Dan is the first baseman.
 The Verb Lay
A "transitive" verb
indicates that something
is being done to someone
or something. For
example, take a look at
the following sentence:

Transitive Verb (lay):

Every morning, I lay the
newspaper on the table.
• I (the subject) do something to the
newspaper (direct object) every
morning. I lay the newspaper on the
table. The word lay is the verb (in the
present tense), and the noun
newspaper is the thing that something
is done to (the direct object).
 The Verb Lie

• An "intransitive" verb, on the other

hand, does not indicate that anything
is being done to anything or anyone.
The person or thing does the action
of just lying (NOT laying) there.
• Intransitive Verb (lie):

• In the afternoon, my dog, Maxi, lies on the

living room couch.
• Maxi is not doing anything to anyone or
anything. Maxi is simply lying on the couch;
the verb lie is
Lie--------lay--------lain-------lying
Lay-------laid-------laid-------laying
• Complete the following sentences by inserting
the correct form of the words “lie” and “lay.”

• She will _____ the baby down in the crib.

• _____ down and rest.
• I can’t find my keys. Did you ____ them on the
table like I asked?

• He had _____ near the fire all evening.

• She had already _____ the book down.
 ANSWERS

• 1. lay 2. Lie 3. lay 4. lain 5. laid