By Scott Ufford

Transitive verbs are verbs that come before a direct object.

Exe: The officer chased the Coopers’ car to the intersection of Clark and Silver.

Chased functions as a transitive verb because it links the officer to the car, our direct object in this sentence.

Transitive=transition from Subject to Direct object.

Intransitive verbs do not link the subject to a direct object.

Exe: I ran over the field. Over the field is a preposition, therefore the

verb ran does not link the subject to a direct object.

Do not confuse prepositions with direct objects.

I accompanied my CT to a meeting. I ate dinner with my family. The dog and the cat fought each other. Mary had a little lamb. Our sprinkler system stopped working. I ran in a marathon last weekend. Who stole my bike?

I accompanied my CT to a meeting. I ate with my family. The dog and the cat fought each other. Mary had a little lamb. Our sprinkler system stopped working. I ran in a marathon last weekend. Who stole my bike?

Some verbs can function as either a transitive or intransitive verb.

The children played at home. The children played a grueling game of

chess at home. Remember, be aware of prepositions and

direct objects!

With a partner, compose three sentences containing either transitive or intransitive verbs.

Trade with another group and determine which verbs are transitive and intransitive.

MacFayden, Heather. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs. The Writing Center:Hyper Grammar. University of

Ottawa. Web. October, 22, 2012. http://www.writingcentre.uottawa.ca/hypergrammar/trnsintr.html

Plumlee, Rick. Wichitan Pleads Guilty to Helping his Brother Rob Commerce Bank Branch. The Wichita Eagle.

October 22, 2012. Web. October 22, 2012. http://www.kansas.com/2012/10/22/2541512/wichitan -pleads-guilty-to-helping.html