Lesson 123

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.

Transitive active sentences can be changed to transitive passive sentences by making the direct object the subject and putting the subject either in a prepositional phrase or omitting it.

Example:
The daughter kissed her mother on the cheek.
The mother was kissed on the cheek by her daughter.
The mother was kissed on the cheek.
(Mother is the receiver of the action in all three sentences, but in the last two sentences mother is the subject of the sentences.)

 
 
 

Instructions: Transform the following transitive passive sentences into transitive active sentences by taking the new subject from the prepositional phrase and making the old subject the direct object.

1. Consent was given by Rebecca.

2. The note was written by you.

3. Gunpowder was invented by the Chinese.

4. The prize was won by the last contestant.

5. The difficult role was played well by the understudy.

Note: Your answers may vary somewhat from mine.