Transitivity (grammar)
property of verbs that relates to whether a verb can take direct objects and how many such objects a verb can take
Transitivity in grammar is about whether a verb has an object or not. A transitive verb has an object; an intransitive verb does not.[1]p1051 Examples:
- Transitive:
- We really enjoyed the trip.
- She read the book.
- What did you throw?
- Intransitive:
- She relaxed.
- She travels.
- She slept.
A transitive verb is an action verb. It expresses something doable (something possible to do).[2] The direct object is something or someone who is the receiver of the action (verb).[2] In the first two examples above, the 'trip' and the 'book' are the direct objects. 'Enjoyed' and 'read' are the transitive verbs.
References
change- ↑ McArthur, Tom (ed) 1992. The Oxford companion to the English language. Oxford University Press.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robin L. Simmons. "The Transitive Verb". Grammar Bytes!. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
