Transitivity/intransitivity is a category on the basis of which one can single out the relationship between the subject and the object of an action. The meaning of this category is that the subject performs a certain action, and its result may “appear” (transfer) or not “appear” (not pass) to the subject. Therefore, verbs in Russian are divided into transitive and intransitive.
Transitive and intransitive verbs. Lexical meaning
To determine transitivity, it is necessary to identify a key feature that acts as an object with a verb and has a certain case marking.
A transitive verb is a verb that has the meaning of an action that is directed at an object and changes or produces it (check work, dig a hole).
Intransitive verb - denotes movement or position in space, or moral state, or physical.
The so-calledlabile verbs. They can act as both transitive and intransitive (the editor rules the manuscript - the man himself rules the world).
Syntactic difference
The syntactic difference between transitive and intransitive verbs is related to the lexical meaning. Transitive and intransitive verbs usually go together:
- The first - with nouns and pronouns denoting the object of action without a preposition in the accusative case (read a magazine, treat a girl).
- The second - with additions that are expressed by nouns and pronouns, with or without prepositions, exclusively in indirect cases (play on the street, walk around the yard). Also, with intransitive verbs, the accusative case can be used, but without a preposition and bearing the meaning of time or space: tourists go day and night.
Besides, the object of action with transitive verbs can also be expressed in the genitive case, but only in such cases:
- when designating a part of an object: buy water, drink tea;
- if there is a negation with the verb: I have no right, I have not read the book.
Transitive and intransitive verbs (table) have these main differences.
Morphological features
As a rule, these verbs do not have special morphological features. But still, certain types of word formation act as indicators of the transitivity or intransitivity of the verb. So, the transitive verb is:
- all verbs with -sya affix (make sure);
- nominative verbs in which the suffix -e- or -nicha-(-icha-) stands out: picky, exhaust, greedy.
Transitive verbs can be attributed, which were formed from adjectives with the suffix -i-: green, blacken.
There are some cases when, by adding a prefix to intransitive non-prefixed verbs, they form transitive verbs. Examples: harm and neutralize.
If there is no object in the sentence, then the transitive verb performs the function of an intransitive one: The student writes well (the property inherent in this person is indicated).
Intransitive verbs contain a special group of reflexive verbs, their formal feature is the suffix -sya (wash, return).
Reflexive verbs. Features
Reflexive verbs are studied in the school curriculum, just like transitive verbs (Grade 6).
A reflexive verb denotes an action directed at oneself. It is formed using a particle (postfix) -sya (-s).
The following main features of these verbs can be distinguished:
- Firstly, they can come from both transitive verbs (put on - dress up) and intransitive ones (knock - knock). But still, reflexive (transitive verbs after adding the postfix -с (-с)) in any case become intransitive (dress - dress).
- Secondly, these postfixes are added: -sya - after consonants (wash, wash, wash), -s - after vowels(dressed, dressed). It is worth noting that participles are always written with the postfix -sya (dressing, washing).
- Thirdly, reflexive verbs are formed in three ways: suffixal-postfixal - by adding a suffix and a postfix to the stem (rez+vy(t)sya), prefixed-postfixal (on+drink_sya), postfixal (wash+sya).
Formation of derivatives in -sya and passive participles
Since the main morphological properties of transitive verbs are the formation of derivatives in -sya and passive participles, which is not typical for intransitive verbs, let's get acquainted with this process in more detail.
In most cases, a transitive verb is one that forms a passive participle or derivatives with the ending -sya, which can have a reflexive (hurry up), passive meaning (to be created), decausative (break).
The exceptions are the verbs add (in weight), cost, weigh and most semelfactives in -nu (pick). In addition, these verbs do not form passive and reflexive derivatives.
But still, there are intransitive verbs that can form passive constructions. For example, the verb expect. It forms a passive from an intransitive construction with an addition in the genitive case: I expect Vasily to arrive - Vasily is expected to arrive.
Verb transitivity correlation
Despite the fact that transitivity does not have a single formal expression, there are still tendencies that associate the category of transitivity withformal properties of the verb, for example, with verb prefixes:
- The vast majority of non-reflexive verbs with the prefix raz- are transitive (blur, push). The exceptions are: verbs denoting movement with the suffix -va- / -iva- / -a- (waving, driving around); verbs expressing spontaneous changes in the properties of an object, in particular containing the suffix -nu-, formed from intransitive verbs (to get wet, melt, swell); verbs containing thematic vowels -e-, which denote a change in properties (get rich, get rich); including calling, thinking.
- Almost all non-reflexive verbs containing the prefix from- are transitive (exceptions: get wet, dry out, please, and others).
Semantic properties of transitive verbs
Russian has a large class of direct objects. In addition to those that are significantly affected by the situation, the verb can have a direct object that plays a different semantic role (for example, to see, to have, to create - with these transitive verbs, nothing happens to the object, it is not destroyed, does not change).
So it turns out that transitivity opposition should not be rigidly connected with the semantic class of the verb. This means that a transitive verb does not have to denote an agent-patient situation. But still, some trends can be noted.
So, a transitive verb is:
- verb of destruction or destruction of an object (kill, smash);
- verb of changing the shape of an object (crush,compress);
- emotion conditioning verb (offend, anger, offend).
Semantic properties of intransitive verbs
Having highlighted the semantic properties of transitive verbs, we can determine the properties of all the rest, that is, intransitive ones:
- Single-place verbs that do not have objects, that is, they characterize a change in the state of the patient (direct object, significantly affected by the situation), which was not caused by the agent. Or there may be a case when the agent plays an insignificant role: die, rot, fall, get wet.
- Double with indirect addition. That is, the verbs of help (with the exception of support): promote, help, indulge, help.
- Verbs that are used with an object that is an integral part of the agentive participant of the verb (move, move, wave).
- Verbs of perception of a fictitious situation (count on, expect (what), hope for, hope for).
Non-canonical types of direct additions
It has been said more than once that the key property of transitive verbs is the ability to interact with the direct object in the accusative case. But there are such classes of verbs that are used not only with nouns and pronouns in the accusative case, but also with a word or expression of another part of speech, semantically identical to it to one degree or another. These could be:
- prepositional phrase (I scratched behind his ear);
- genitive group (grandfather did not read thisnewspaper);
- adverb group (he drinks a lot, I decided so);
- sentential actant (infinitive turnover - I like to go to the theater; subordinate clause used together with the union -to or -that - I realized that he will go to the sea; subordinate clause together with the union -when - I don’t like, when it rains).
Some of the listed constructions can not only replace the direct object used with transitive verbs, but also be used to express a similar function with intransitive verbs. Namely:
- infinitive phrases (he is afraid to go into the woods at night);
- subordinate clauses together with conjunctions -to and -what (she was angry that he did not come; he prayed that she would come);
- subordinate clauses with conjunction -when (I don't like it when doors are kept closed);
- genitive (she avoids these guys);
- designs with a lot (Alina sleeps a lot).
Analogues of the above additions in the accusative case have to varying degrees the prototypical properties of direct objects.
Summarize
Despite the fact that this topic is one of the most difficult, we were able to determine what a transitive verb means. They also learned to distinguish it from the intransitive and to single out the recurrent ones among the latter. And to prove this, let's give an example of phrases with transitive verbs, with intransitive and reflexive:
- transitional: paint walls, treat a patient, read a book, sew a suit,expand the sleeve, buy tea, drink water, not eligible, rock the baby;
- intransitive: walk the streets, believe in goodness, walk in the park, get exhausted from fatigue;
- returnable: get things done, disagree, get close to each other, obey the boss, reflect on existence, vouch for a brother, touch on an issue.
