Monday, January 25, 2016

Verbs that are Transitive and Intransitive

Verbs that are Transitive and Intransitive

Many verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.
They can be transitive in one sentence and intransitive in another sentence.
(These are called ambitransitive verbs)
You have grown since I last saw you. (intransitive)
You have grown a beard since I last saw you. (transitive)

Sometimes the meaning changes depending on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive
He runs along the beach every morning (intransitive: run – the action/sport)
He runs a small grocery store (transitive: run = manage)
The plane will take off in five minutes. (intransitive: take off = to leave the ground and begin to fly)
Please take off your shoes before entering the house. (transitive: take off = to remove something)

Example sentences of verbs that are both transitive and intransitive
(transitive) - (intransitive)
I stopped the car.The car stopped.
I broke my coffee mug.My coffee mug broke.
The summer heat melted my ice cream.My ice cream melted.
She speaks Arabic. – She speaks very quickly.
Mike is reading a book. – Mike is reading.
New Zealand won the match. – New Zealand won.

taken from:

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