Explanation
Intransitive Verbs express the action that is taken by something or somebody upon itself; without any object. Intransitive Verbs doesn’t need an object to take action, unlike in Transitive Verbs where an object is required. Intransitive Verbs are not complemented by an Object.
Go through the sentences given below-
> He smiled.
> Rocky cried loud.
> My dog ran.
> I was sleeping.
> He is talking.
> The plane is flying.
> The car is moving.
> The deer jumped.
The verbs in the above sentences- smiled, cried, ran, sleeping, talking, flying, moving and jumped are all the actions which the Subjects (He, Rocky, My dog etc) have taken upon themselves; but not on any other object as is the case with Transitive Verbs.
It can thus be said that the Intransitive Verbs don’t need an Object to complement them.
Definition
An Intransitive Verb is the Verb that doesn’t take a Direct Object to complement itself. The most important characteristics of a Intransitive Verbs are, firstly- it is an action verb expressing self achievable activities (walking, sleeping, flying etc) and secondly, it doesn’t need an Direct Object to take action upon; unlike the Transitive Verbs.
In an Intransitive Verb sentence there is no Object which receives the action; while it may be continued with a phrase or words. Such words or phrases only answer the question, How?
Go through the below sentences-
- I slept very well.
In the sentence the verb- ‘slept’ is Intransitive as it doesn’t act upon an object, but upon the Subject itself. Though, it is followed by a phrase-‘very well’, it only tells us how the sleep was.
- The car moved fast.
‘The car’ is the subject; ‘moved’ is the Intransitive Verb and ‘fast’ is an adverb (adverb of manner)
Examples/List
Below given is a list of commonly used Intransitive Verbs followed by Example Sentences-
Arrive, sleep, walk, talk, collapse, fly, swim, go, inquire, knock, revolt, laugh, look, lie, last, fallen, out, sneeze, proved, rise, voted, subside, recede, ache, deteriorating, improving, departed, demonstrated, increased, decreased, quickly, slowly, disappear, emerge, remain, respond, stay etc.
Some More Example Sentences
Below we will go through some more example sentences having Intransitive Verbs. The Verbs may be complimented by an adverb or a phrase but they do not have a Direct Object; that is, the Subject takes the action of the verb upon itself.
- The bus has arrived. (Subject: The bus, Intransitive Verb: arrived)
- He is sleeping very soundly. (Subject: He, Intransitive Verb: sleeping)
- The building collapsed. (Subject: Building, Intransitive Verb: collapsed)
- The results are out. (Subject: results, Intransitive Verb: Out)
- Oliver sneezes loudly. (Subject: Oliver, Intransitive Verb: Sneezes)
- The eagle rose high. (Subject: Eagle, Intransitive Verb: High)
- The flood waters receded. (Subject: Flood waters, Intransitive Verbs: receded)
- Oliver’s grades are deteriorating. (Subject: Oliver’s grades, Intransitive Verb: deteriorating)
- The flight departed. (Subject: flight, Intransitive Verb: departed)
- The temperature has increased. (Subject: temperature, Intransitive Verb: increased)
- They emerged victorious. (Subject: They, Intransitive Verb: emerged)
- Roxy went to the park. (Subject: Roxy, Intransitive Verb: went)
- The statement proved false. (Subject: Statement, Intransitive Verb: proved)
- The sun sets in the west. (Subject: Sun, Intransitive Verb: sets)
- The bubble disappeared. (Subject: bubble, Intransitive Verb: disappeared)
All the above sentences don’t have a Direct Object and the action is taken by the subject upon itself. Therefore, the verbs are Intransitive.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Some Verbs can be Transitive as well as Intransitive, depending on the situation. For some statements these verbs may require an object and for some situations they don’t. Go through the below sentences-
- She can sing for hours. (Intransitive Verb: sing)
- She can sing the song for hours. (Transitive Verb: sing, Direct Object: song)
- Rocky walks every day. (Intransitive Verb: walks)
- Rocky walks the dog every day. (Transitive Verbs: walks, Direct Object: dog)
List of Verbs That Can Be Used as Transitive and Intransitive
Following is the list of the verbs that can be used both as Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs-
Agree, run, walk, stand, collide, cheered, visited, tripped, sang etc.
We will go through Example sentences using the above Verbs as both Transitive and Intransitive.
- The Chairman agreed. (Intransitive Verb: agreed)
- The Chairman agreed to the proposal. (Transitive Verb: agreed, Direct Object: Proposal)
- The ship sailed. (Intransitive Verb: sailed)
- The captain sailed the ship. (Transitive Verb: sailed, Direct Object: the ship)
- He walks every day. (Intransitive Verb: walks)
- He walks the dog every day. (Transitive Verb: walks, Direct Object: the dog)
- The crowd cheered. (Intransitive Verb: cheered)
- The crowd cheered the team. (Transitive Verb: cheered, Direct Object: team)
- Oliver tripped. (Intransitive Verb: tripped)
- Oliver tripped the wire. (Transitive Verb: tripped, Direct Object: the wire)
Exercises/Worksheets/Activities with Answers
True or False Exercises/Worksheet/Activities on Intransitive Verbs with Answers:
State whether the given statements are True or False and verify your answer with the answer provided in the end of the exercise.
1) Intransitive Verbs are opposite of Transitive Verbs. (Ex- sit, stand; sleep, awake etc)
- a) True
- b) False
2) Intransitive Verbs don’t require a Direct Object to take the action.
- a) True
- b) False
3) Intransitive verbs express the self action taken by the Subject.
- a) True
- b) False
4) Some Intransitive Verbs can be used as Transitive Verbs, depending on the situation.
- a) True
- b) False
5) For the phrase- “He moved”. Choose the correct statement.
- a) ‘moved’ is an Intransitive Verb
- b) ‘He’ is the direct Object
- c) ‘moved’ is a Transitive verb
6) In the statement – “He moved the chair”; choose the correct statement
- a) ‘moved’ is Transitive Verb
- b) ‘Chair’ is the direct object
- c) ‘He’is the Indirect Object
7) Intransitive Verbs are non action verbs.
- a) True
- b) False
8)’Walk’ can be used both as Transitive and Intransitive verb
- a) True
- b) False
9) Every Transitive verb can be used as Intransitive Verb and vice versa.
- a) True
- b) False
10) In the sentence- ‘Oliver drove fast’
a)’ drove’ is Intransitive
- b) ‘drove’ is Transitive
Answers- 1)b, 2)a, 3)a, 4)a, 5)a, 6)a,b, 7)b, 8)a, 9)b, 10)a
MCQ Exercises/Worksheets/Activities on Transitive Verbs with Answers:
Choose the correct answer from the choices given with every question. Read the question and the sentences given carefully and choose the correct options. It should be kept in mind that the Intransitive Verbs are always Action Verbs and don’t refer to any object. Check your Answers with the answers provided in the end of the exercise.
1) In the sentence –‘He cried for hours’
- a) ‘cried’ is an Intransitive Verb
- b) ‘hours’ is a Direct Object
- c) ‘Cried’ is a Transitive Verb
2) In the statement- ‘Audience laughed loudly’
- a) ‘laughed’ is Transitive because ‘loudly’ is an object
- b) ‘laughed’ is Intransitive
- c) ‘loudly’ is an adverb
3) In the statement ‘The prediction proved false’
- a) ‘proved’ is Transitive
- b) ‘proved’ is Intransitive
4) In the statement- ‘The man called the police’
- a) ‘called’ is Intransitive
- b) ‘called’ is Transitive
5) In the sentence- ‘Oliver is reading’
- a) ‘reading’ is Transitive
- b) ‘reading’ is Intransitive
6) ‘He is sleeping’
- a) sleeping is Intransitive
- b) sleeping is Transitive
7) In the sentence- ‘The teacher is teaching’.
- a) ‘teaching’ is Transitive
- b) ‘teaching’ is Intransitive
8) In the sentence-‘The rain subsided’.
- a) ‘Subsided’ is Intransitive
- b) ‘Subsided’ is Transitive
9) In the sentence-‘The storm disappeared’.
- a) ‘Disappeared’ is Transitive
- b) ‘Disappeared’ is Intransitive
10) ‘She looked happy’
- a) ‘looked’ is Transitive
- b) ‘looked’ is Intransitive
Answers- 1)a, 2)b,c, 3)b, 4)b, 5)b, 6)a, 7)b, 8)a, 9)b, 10)b
Common Exercises
Transitive And Intransitive Verbs MCQ Exercises/Worksheets/Activities With Answers:
Determine whether the verbs in the following sentences are Transitive or Intransitive.
1) My teacher told me to listen.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
2) Let us call him for the picnic.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
3) She walked for a mile.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
4) He received the courier today.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
5) The plane landed safely.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
6) He is going to give her some money.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
7) In the sentence in question no 6
- a) ‘money’ is a Direct Object
- b) ‘her’ is an Indirect Object
8) She has travelled a lot since her transfer.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
9) Immediately the meeting was called off.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
10) His behavior confused her.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
11) Let him play football.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
12) She baked a delicious cake.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
13) Will you lend me some money?
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
14) She walked to school.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
15) She walked the dog to school.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
16) He reads a book every weekend.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
17) Batsman hit the ball.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
18) The boys left.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
19) The boys left the door opened.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
20) The watchman screamed.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
21) Low temperature freezes water.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
22) Water freezes in low temperature.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
23) The rider stopped the horse.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
24) The horse stopped suddenly.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
25) She should sing the song.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
26) He should walk frequently.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
27) The children are playing cricket.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
28) The ships are sailing in the water.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
29) The pilot flew a big airplane.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
30) The earthquake collapsed the building.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
31) The building collapsed due to earthquake.
- a) Transitive
- b) Intransitive
Answers– 1)a, 2)a, 3)b, 4)a, 5)b, 6)a, 7)a,b, 8)b, 9)b, 10)a, 11)a, 12)a, 13)a, 14)b, 15)a, 16)a, 17)a, 18)b, 19)a, 20)b, 21)a, 22)b, 23)a, 24)b, 25)a, 26)b, 27)a, 28)b, 29)a, 30)a, 31)b
1) ‘me’ is the direct object; ‘told’ is the Transitive Verb.
2) ‘him’ is the Direct Object; ‘call’ is the Transitive Verb.
3) There is no Direct Object, so ‘walked’ is the Intransitive Verb.
4) ‘Courier’ is the direct Object so ‘received’ is the Transitive Verb.
5) There is no Direct Object and the verb is performed by the Subject itself; so ‘landed’ is Intransitive Verb.
6) ‘Money’ is the Direct Object so ‘give’ is the Transitive Verb.
7) The verb ’give’ is acted upon the direct Object i.e. money and ‘her’ is the Indirect Object.
8) There is no Direct Object so ‘travelled’ is Intransitive Verb.
9) ‘called off’ is Intransitive verb as there is no Direct Object.
10) ‘Her’ is the Direct Object and ‘confused’ is the Transitive Verb.
11) ‘Play’ is the Transitive Verb because ‘football’ is the Direct Object.
12) ‘Baked’ is the Transitive Verb and ‘cake’ is the direct Object
13) ‘Lend’ is Transitive Verb and ‘me’ is the Direct Object.
14) Since there is no Direct Object, ‘walked’ is Intransitive Verb.
15) Since ‘dog’ is the Direct Object so ‘walked’ becomes Transitive Verb.
16) Read- Transitive Verb; Book- Direct Object.
17) Hit- Transitive Verb, Ball- Direct Object.
18) Boys- Intransitive Verb as there is no Direct Object.
19) Left- Transitive Verb; the door- direct Object.
20) Screamed- Intransitive Verb.
21) ‘Water’ is the Direct subject and ‘Freezes’ is Transitive Verb.
22) The verb is being acted upon the subject itself- water. No direct subject; therefore, ‘freezes’ becomes Intransitive Verb’.
23) ‘Stopped’- Transitive Verb; ‘Horse’- Direct Object.
24) Intransitive Verb- Stopped.
25) Transitive Verb- sing, Direct Object- song.
26) Intransitive Verb- walk.
27) Transitive Verb- playing; Direct Object- cricket.
28) Intransitive Verb- sailing.
29) Transitive Verb- flew; Direct Object- big airplane.
30) Transitive Verb- collapsed; Direct Object- the building.
31) Intransitive Verb- collapsed.
Related Information:
Verb
Regular Verb
Irregular Verb
Subject-Verb Agreement
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Transitive Verbs
Nonfinite Verb
Finite Verb
Stative Verb
Dynamic Verb
Auxiliary Verb
Lexical Verb