Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs + Objects · Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs...

www.espressoenglish.net © Shayna Oliveira 2014

Lesson 11:

Transitive & Intransitive Verbs + Objects

We've finished our section on verb tenses, and now we'll study what

comes after verbs. This will help you form sentences that are logical and

sound natural.

Transitive & Intransitive Verbs

Verbs in English can be transitive or intransitive. What does that mean?

Consider these examples and try to discover the difference:

Intransitive Verbs:

I laughed.

He's sleeping.

The book fell off the table.

An error message appeared on the screen.

She arrived in the morning.

Transitive Verbs

I told a joke.

He's fixing the car.

I dropped the book on the floor.

I restarted my computer.

She gave me a birthday present.

http://www.espressoenglish.net/


The difference is that transitive verbs have an object - a person or thing that

receives the action; the action is done to it - and intransitive verbs do not.

Intransitive verbs involve the subject only.

He's sleeping.

He = subject

sleeping = intransitive verb

He's fixing the car.

He = subject

fixing = transitive verb

the car = object

Some transitive verbs have two objects - a direct object (the action is done to it)

and an indirect object (receives the action):

She gave me a birthday present.

She = subject

gave = transitive verb

me = indirect object

a birthday present = direct object

We will study this structure later in the

lesson.

What can follow transitive/ intransitive verbs?

Transitive verbs are followed by a noun, pronoun, or possessive:

He keeps the dog in a cage.

the dog = noun

He has a dog. He keeps it in a cage.

it = pronoun

Where did you buy your bicycle?

your bicycle = possessive + noun



I'm looking for a new bicycle. Where did you buy yours?

yours = possessive

Intransitive verbs can be followed by nothing, or by a prepositional phrase or

adverb.

She cried.

She cried on my shoulder.

She cried noisily.

I agree.

I agree with you.

I agree completely.

We waited.

We waited for two hours.

We waited patiently.

Sometimes, students make the mistake of forgetting the object after a transitive verb

– this makes the sentence sound incomplete and unnatural in English. One way to

test your sentence is to ask "...what?" immediately after the verb. If there is an

answer to that question, then say the object or substitute it with a pronoun:

We bought.

Bought what???

We bought a car.

They're taking.

Taking what???

They're taking a trip.

I have the documents. Tomorrow I'll send.

Send what???

Tomorrow I'll send them.

That's a nice sweater. I like.

I like what???

I like it.



An accident has happened.

Happened what?

No answer - happened is intransitive - this sentence is OK.

Every time I try to open the program, an error message appears.

Appears what?

No answer - appears is intransitive - this sentence is OK.

Verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive

A number of verbs in English are both transitive and intransitive - meaning

they can have a direct object, but it is not necessary for them to have one. For

example:

She's reading.

She's reading a book.

I understand.

I understand the lesson.

They've already eaten.

They've already eaten lunch.

So how can you tell if a verb needs an object or not? You can check to see if the

sentence makes sense by itself, or if there appears to be something missing (the

"what" after the verb). For example:

He sold.

Sold what?

He sold his car. (sold = transitive)

The movie ended.

Ended what? Nothing. The movie ended itself.

ended = intransitive in this case; no object needed

We ended.

Ended what? Clearly, we cannot "end" ourselves



We ended the meeting at 4:30.

ended = transitive in this case

Put it into practice!

I'm going to show you eight sentences. Say if the sentence is OK by itself, or if it

NEEDS an object.

1. The flowers are growing.

2. I found.

3. Can you bring?

4. This situation won't last.

5. He's carrying.

6. Let's go.

7. You lied.

8. Everybody hates.

(Answers at the end of the document)

Verbs with two objects

A number of verbs in English can have two objects - the indirect object (the

recipient or beneficiary of the action - usually a person) and the direct object (the

thing upon which the action is performed).

The typical structure is verb - indirect object - direct object:

We showed Rachel the pictures.

He bought me a necklace.

She gave my kids some cookies.

I'll get you a tissue.

However, it is possible to say the direct object first if we add to or for before the

indirect object (the recipient/beneficiary):



We showed the pictures to Rachel.

He bought a necklace for me.

She gave some cookies to my kids.

I'll get a tissue for you.

We often put the indirect object last when the indirect object is long, not just one or

two words:

We showed the pictures to everyone who had attended our wedding.

I bought a toy for each of the children in my son's class.

Now, the big question is when to use to and when to use for. The rule is fairly

simple:

to suggests a direct transfer of the thing to the recipient

for suggests that the recipient gets and benefits from the action or thing

You can remember this because both TO and TRANSFER start with "T."

Consider these examples:

I lent my bike to my brother.

My neighbor wasn't feeling well, so I cooked dinner for her.

He offered a cigarette to the guy standing next to him.

She found a great job opportunity for me.

Verbs that tend to be followed by to + indirect object include give, hand, lend, offer,

pass, promise, show, teach, tell, and throw.

Verbs that tend to be followed by for + indirect object include build, buy, choose,

cook, find, get, make, order, pour, and save.



Special Cases

Some verbs can ONLY be used in a certain sequence -

either:

verb + indirect object + direct object

verb + direct object + to/for + indirect object

...but NOT the other way.

The verbs admit, describe, announce, demonstrate, explain, introduce,

mention, point out, prove, report, say, and suggest CANNOT be followed

immediately by the indirect object. You MUST say the direct object first, then use to

+ the indirect object.

She explained me the problem.

She explained the problem to me.

The verbs allow, ask, cost, deny, envy, forgive, permit, and refuse MUST be

followed immediately by the indirect object; you cannot use "to" with these verbs:

I asked a question to the teacher.

I asked the teacher a question.

Put it into practice!

Let's see how good you are at identifying the correct, natural-sounding sentences.

There are 10 sentences and you will have 7 seconds each to decide if it's right or

wrong. If it's wrong, try to rearrange the order of the sentence to correct it. Good

luck!

1. He admitted his oversight to the manager.

2. I can't believe your boss refused you permission to take a day off!

3. The teacher allowed an extra 10 minutes of recess to the kids.

4. I'd like to report everyone the latest statistics.

5. Janet said me something.

6. I asked to them why they weren’t happy.

7. The president announced the policy change to the senators.



8. The suspect proved her innocence to the judge.

9. I suggested for him a good book to read.

10. The surgery cost me $10,000.

(Answers at the end of the document)

Summary

Transitive verbs have an object (person/thing that the action is done to) -

Ex) He's fixing the car.

Intransitive verbs do not have an object - Ex) He's sleeping.

Transitive verbs can be followed by a noun, pronoun, or possessive

Intransitive verbs can be followed by nothing, or by a prepositional

phrase or adverb

To check if a verb needs an object, ask "What?" after the verb and see if the

sentence sounds incomplete without an object

For verbs with two objects, we can say them two ways - We gave her the keys.

/ We gave the keys to her.

When the indirect object (the recipient) is long, we usually put it at the end.

To suggests a direct transfer of the object to the recipient; for suggests the

recipient benefits from the action

A handful of verbs can ONLY have the order of their objects be one way, but

not the other. You simply have to remember these on a case-by-case basis.

You’ve finished Lesson 11! Now try the exercises for more practice with verbs and

their objects.

Writing Task

Write about either the best gift you have ever received, or the best gift you have ever

given. What was it, and why was it so meaningful?

Send me your text at [email protected] for correction and feedback!


mailto:[email protected]


Answers to the exercises inside the lesson

Put it into practice 1:

1. The flowers are growing. = OK

2. I found. = needs an object

3. Can you bring? = needs an object

4. This situation won't last. = OK

5. He's carrying. = needs an object

6. Let's go. = OK

7. You lied. = OK

8. Everybody hates. = needs an object

Put it into practice 2:

1. He admitted his oversight to the manager. = OK

2. I can't believe your boss refused you permission to take a day off! = OK

3. The teacher allowed an extra 10 minutes of recess to the kids. = incorrect

The teacher allowed the kids an extra 10 minutes of recess.

4. I'd like to report everyone the latest statistics. = incorrect

I’d like to report the latest statistics to everyone.

5. Janet said me something. = incorrect

Janet said something to me. / Janet told me something.

6. I asked to them why they weren’t happy. = incorrect

I asked them why they weren’t happy.

7. The president announced the policy change to the senators. = OK

8. The suspect proved her innocence to the judge. = OK

9. I suggested for him a good book to read. = incorrect

I suggested a good book for him to read.

10. The surgery cost me $10,000. = OK



Quiz – Lesson 11

Transitive/Intransitive Verbs + Objects

Exercise 1: If the verb is transitive, add an appropriate pronoun (him, her, me, you,

us, them, it). If it is intransitive, leave the space blank.

Ex) Gary has been accused of fraud. The police arrested __him__ last week.

Ex) She’s a great swimmer. She swam ____________ across the lake and back again.

No pronoun needed. “Swim” involves only the subject (she); there is no object.

1. You seem to be avoiding __________ - are you angry at me?

2. That was a great show. I really enjoyed ___________!

3. I just ordered some new shoes online. I can't wait to get __________!

4. Wait here for the bus. It should come _________ in about 10 minutes.

5. This shirt is the wrong size. I'll take _________ back to the store tomorrow.

6. Something scared the cat, and it ran _____________ away as fast as it could.

7. I hate it when pushy salespeople try to force __________ to buy something I'm

not interested in.

8. He broke his arm after he tripped and fell ___________.

9. That old bridge isn't stable. It could collapse ____________ any day.

10. This isn't my book. I took ____________ out from the library.

11. For a moment I thought I'd lost my daughter at the playground, but then I saw

___________.

12. Janet's not here. She already left ____________.

13. Our tour guide warned ____________ about pickpockets in the city center.

14. I can't find my umbrella. Maybe I left ________ at work.

15. When we visit Australia, we'll be staying ____________ at a friend's house.

16. I have a ton of work, but I just don't feel like doing __________.



Exercise 2: Complete each sentence with one pair of words below, in the correct

order, and add “to” or “for” if necessary. Sometimes more than one answer is

possible.

Ex) The receptionist ___handed me a brochure__.

Also possible: The receptionist handed a brochure to me.

a hotel room / me a demo of the product / us my greetings / your family a letter / her everything / you some questions / the actress a piece of cake / him it / him the attacker / the police officer the ball / the goalkeeper

1. After the assault, she described _____________________________________.

2. I'm not happy with our local politician. I'm going to write _______________________.

3. Jack will be late to the party. Let's save _________________________________.

4. He wasn't able to complete the task, so I did ____________________________.

5. The sales rep showed __________________________________________.

6. Please send _____________________________________.

7. The defender passed ___________________________________________.

8. It's a complicated situation. I'll explain __________________________________ later.

9. The reporter asked __________________________________ about her latest movie.

10. My assistant has already booked ____________________________________.



Answers – Quiz – Lesson 11

Exercise 1:

1. You seem to be avoiding me - are you angry at me?

2. That was a great show. I really enjoyed it!

3. I just ordered some new shoes online. I can't wait to get them!

4. Wait here for the bus. It should come in about 10 minutes.

5. This shirt is the wrong size. I'll take it back to the store tomorrow.

6. Something scared the cat, and it ran away as fast as it could.

7. I hate it when pushy salespeople try to force me to buy something I'm not

interested in.

8. He broke his arm after he tripped and fell.

9. That old bridge isn't stable. It could collapse any day.

10. This isn't my book. I took it out from the library.

11. For a moment I thought I'd lost my daughter at the playground, but then I saw

her.

12. Janet's not here. She already left.

13. Our tour guide warned us about pickpockets in the city center.

14. I can't find my umbrella. Maybe I left it at work.

15. When we visit Australia, we'll be staying at a friend's house.

16. I have a ton of work, but I just don't feel like doing it.



Exercise 2:

1. After the assault, she described the attacker to the police officer.

2. I'm not happy with our local politician. I'm going to write her a letter.

(or: write a letter to her)

3. Jack will be late to the party. Let's save him a piece of cake.

(or: save a piece of cake for him)

4. He wasn't able to complete the task, so I did it for him.

5. The sales rep showed us a demo of the product.

(or: showed a demo of the product to us – but the first way is more common)

6. Please send your family my greetings.

(or: send my greetings to your family)

7. The defender passed the ball to the goalkeeper.

(or: passed the goalkeeper the ball – but the first way is more common)

8. It's a complicated situation. I'll explain everything to you later.

9. The reporter asked the actress some questions about her latest movie.

10. My assistant has already booked me a hotel room.

(or: booked a hotel room for me)


Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs + Objects · Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs...

Documents

Transcript of Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs + Objects · Lesson 11: Transitive & Intransitive Verbs...