One of the important, but for indefinite reasons, often ignored topics in English grammar is transitive and intransitive verbs in English. What it is, how they differ from each other, how to use them and why even know the relevant rules, sometimes even those who, it seems to them, are fluent in this foreign language, do not even guess. For those who want to deepen and improve their knowledge, learn to distinguish and use transitive and intransitive verbs, this article exists.
General definition: why define transitivity?
Transitivity of the verb - a feature that determines whether it is possible to use direct and / or indirect object in combination with the desired verb. To define it, first of all, is necessary in order to correctly use English prepositions.
Learning to distinguish between direct and indirect objects - an inevitable discovery for those who decide to study transitive and intransitive verbs in English - can be more detailed and with lessDifficulty understanding word order in a sentence. More precisely, with the order of additions.
Transitive verbs: signs and examples
Transitive verbs are used in combination with direct objects. Direct objects are expressed by nouns or pronouns in the accusative case (they answer the questions "Who?" and "What?"). For example:
| Example | Translation |
| My girlfriend loves this puppy. | My girlfriend loves (Who?) this puppy. |
| It seems to me that she likes everything cute and little. | I think she likes (What?) everything cute and small. |
Without a direct object, a transitive verb seems "incomplete" and a sentence incomplete. With the help of a transitive verb, it is almost impossible to express a specific idea. For example:
| Example | Translation | The same sentence, but without the direct object |
| We must use this tool. | We must use this tool. | We must use. (Doesn't make sense). |
| I prefer to drink orange juice instead of tea. | I like drinking orange juice instead of tea. | I like to drink instead of tea. (Sounds absurd and distorts the idea.) |
Most often, direct objects with transitive verbs in English are used without a preposition. The only exceptions are phrasal verbs, which are notexist without a preposition, or the meaning of which is distorted depending on its presence. For example:
| Example | Translation |
| She looks for you. | She's looking for you. |
The verb look for means "to look for". If you replace the preposition, you can get a completely different meaning: look at - "look", look after - "look after", look forward - "look forward". Without a preposition, this verb is not used at all.
Intransitive verbs: signs and examples
These verbs require an indirect object after them. It can be expressed by a noun or a pronoun in any case except the nominative. For example:
| Example | Translation |
| Let's talk about it! | Let's talk (What?) about it! |
| He prays for us. | He is praying for (Who?) us. |
| Come to me. | Come (Who?) to me. |
| Come with me. | Come (Who?) with me. |
Unlike transitive, intransitive verbs in English can exist without an object, formulating a complete, self-explanatory thought.
| Example | Translation |
| He is travelling. | He travels. |
| My husband is working. | My husband works. |
Often, several objects can be used in conjunction with an intransitive verb.
| Example | Translation |
| I don't want to talk to him about my problems. | I don't want to talk to him (first expansion) about my problems (second expansion). |
Verbs with inconstant transitiveness
Compiling a complete list of verbs in English - transitive or intransitive - with all the desire, no one will succeed. In addition to the obvious impossibility of including all the richness of the language in one list, there is a more complicated reason: some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive at the same time, depending on the context. For example:
| Example | Translation | Transitivity of the verb |
| I wrote a story. | I wrote the story. | Transitional. |
| The story is written by me. | The story is written by me. | Intransitive. |
In the first case, the use of a direct object with the verb to write is possible and even necessary, but in the second case, on the contrary, it is not possible.
Summing up
Examples of transitive and intransitive verbs in English with translation into Russian show and prove that understanding transitivity is necessary even for those who study only conversational or only basic English. It facilitates understanding of the structure of the language, helps to systematize knowledge,get used to analyzing sentences by meaning and grammatically, and also simplifies the study of prepositions. And verbs with non-permanent transitivity can be considered a kind of demonstration of the richness, unusualness and interestingness of the English language, which is in no way inferior to Russian.
