Lesson 117

Parts of the Sentence - Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that have subjects or objects that receive the action.  They are either active voice or passive voice.

Transitive active verbs are the verbs in sentences with a direct object. The subjectThe subject tells who or what about the verb.  Source: Lesson 91 is the doer and the direct objectA direct object receives the action performed by the subject.  The verb used with a direct object is always an action verb.  Another way of saying it is that the subject does the verb to the direct object.
Source: Lesson 106 is the receiver of the action.

Example:
The boy kicked the ball.

Transitive passive verbs have the subject receiving the action with the doer in a prepositional phraseA prepositional phrase starts with a preposition, ends with an object, and may have modifiers between the proposition and object of the preposition.
Source: Lesson 71 or omitted in the sentence. The verb in the transitive passive voice always has is, am, are, was, were, be, being, or been as an auxiliary or helping verbHelping verbs are any verbs in a verb phrase that are not the main verb.
Source: Lesson 4.

Examples:
The ball was kicked by the boy.
The ball was kicked hard.

 
 
 

Intransitive verbs have no receiver of the action. They are classified as intransitive complete or intransitive linking.

Intransitive linking are sentences with a predicate nominativeA predicate nominative or predicate noun completes a linking verb and renames the subject. It is a complement or completer because it completes the verb. Predicate nominatives complete only linking verbs.
Source: Lesson 101 or predicate adjectiveAn adjective that comes after a linking verb and modifies the subject.
Source: Lesson 155.

Examples:
The girl is Mary. (predicate nominative)
The girl is cute. (predicate adjective)

Intransitive complete are all the verbs that don't fit one of the other kinds of transitive or intransitive verbs.

Examples:
The bell rang suddenly. (no receiver of the action)
The girl knitted all evening. (no receiver of the action)
They were here. (no action or predicate nominative or predicate adjective)

 
 
 

Instructions: Tell whether the verbs in the following sentences are transitive active, transitive passive, intransitive linking, or intransitive complete.

1. The hikers reached the mountain by nightfall.

2. They prepared their own meals that night.

3. Last week the family painted the house.

4. Jane spent her vacation in the Grand Tetons.

5. The apricot tree spread its branches over the fence.