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)
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.
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:
Intransitive Verbs
INTRANSITIVE VERBS
Intransitive verbs cannot have a direct object after them.
The subject is doing the action of the verb and nothing receives the action. An intransitive verb does not pass the action to an object.
He arrived.
Here we cannot have an object after the intransitive verb arrive.
You cannot “arrive something” (incorrect).
An intransitive verb expresses an action that is complete in itself and it doesn’t need an object to receive the action.
Intransitive verbs cannot have a direct object after them.
The subject is doing the action of the verb and nothing receives the action. An intransitive verb does not pass the action to an object.
He arrived.
Here we cannot have an object after the intransitive verb arrive.
You cannot “arrive something” (incorrect).
An intransitive verb expresses an action that is complete in itself and it doesn’t need an object to receive the action.
The baby smiled.
Here we cannot have an object after the intransitive verb smiled.
You cannot “smile something” (incorrect).
Here we cannot have an object after the intransitive verb smiled.
You cannot “smile something” (incorrect).
The apple fell from the tree.
You cannot “fall something” so the verb is intransitive.
“From the tree” is not an object, it is an adverbial phrase ( = it acts like an adverb and tells us where it happened).
The same rules apply to intransitive phrasal verbs. You cannot have an object after an intransitive phrasal verb.
I get up at 6 every morning.
You cannot “fall something” so the verb is intransitive.
“From the tree” is not an object, it is an adverbial phrase ( = it acts like an adverb and tells us where it happened).
The same rules apply to intransitive phrasal verbs. You cannot have an object after an intransitive phrasal verb.
I get up at 6 every morning.
Example sentences using INTRANSITIVE verbs
We arrived around midday.
She sneezed loudly.
Your baby cries a lot.
His grandfather died last year.
The rain fell heavily.
We arrived around midday.
She sneezed loudly.
Your baby cries a lot.
His grandfather died last year.
The rain fell heavily.
taken from:
Transitive Verbs
Verbs in English can be divided into two groups:
Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs.
Transitive verbs and Intransitive verbs.
TRANSITIVE VERBS
Transitive verbs require an object to complete their meaning.
Imagine that I say:
I bought.
This sentence is incomplete. There is information that is missing.
You are probably wondering what I bought. (What did you buy Rob?)
Why is this sentence incomplete?
Because BOUGHT (the past of buy) is a transitive verb and a transitive verb needs an object after it to complete the sentence. The object after a transitive verb can be a noun or a pronoun.
I bought a car.
Now the sentence is complete and we can understand it. We added the object “a car” after the verb.
Let’s look at some other examples.
If someone says:
She likes. (incomplete - incorrect)
You probably think … She likes WHAT? (What does she like?)
Like is a transitive verb so we need an object after the verb.
She likes chocolate.
Now we know what she likes so this sentence is complete and correct.
The man stole a bike.
We need to say WHAT the man stole in order to understand the sentence/situation. Steal (stole is the past tense of steal) is a transitive verb. The object in this sentence is the bike.
So we have seen that transitive verbs need an object after them.
This object receives the action of the verb.
Transitive verbs always ask “what?” or “whom?”
What did you buy? – I bought a car.
What did you cut? – I cut my finger.
Whom did she invite? – I invited Angelica.
Subject + transitive verb + object
The same rules apply to phrasal verbs.
If someone says: “I’m looking for”
You would automatically think “Looking for what? Looking for whom?”
We need to add an object to make the sentence complete.
I am looking for my passport.
My passport is the object (that you are looking for)
Transitive verbs require an object to complete their meaning.
Imagine that I say:
I bought.
This sentence is incomplete. There is information that is missing.
You are probably wondering what I bought. (What did you buy Rob?)
Why is this sentence incomplete?
Because BOUGHT (the past of buy) is a transitive verb and a transitive verb needs an object after it to complete the sentence. The object after a transitive verb can be a noun or a pronoun.
I bought a car.
Now the sentence is complete and we can understand it. We added the object “a car” after the verb.
Let’s look at some other examples.
If someone says:
She likes. (incomplete - incorrect)
You probably think … She likes WHAT? (What does she like?)
Like is a transitive verb so we need an object after the verb.
She likes chocolate.
Now we know what she likes so this sentence is complete and correct.
The man stole a bike.
We need to say WHAT the man stole in order to understand the sentence/situation. Steal (stole is the past tense of steal) is a transitive verb. The object in this sentence is the bike.
So we have seen that transitive verbs need an object after them.
This object receives the action of the verb.
Transitive verbs always ask “what?” or “whom?”
What did you buy? – I bought a car.
What did you cut? – I cut my finger.
Whom did she invite? – I invited Angelica.
Subject + transitive verb + object
The same rules apply to phrasal verbs.
If someone says: “I’m looking for”
You would automatically think “Looking for what? Looking for whom?”
We need to add an object to make the sentence complete.
I am looking for my passport.
My passport is the object (that you are looking for)
Transitive Verbs – Passive Form
Transitive verbs can have a passive form.
Active: Subject + transitive verb + object
Passive: Object + was/were + transitive verb (+ by subject)
Transitive verbs can have a passive form.
Active: Subject + transitive verb + object
Passive: Object + was/were + transitive verb (+ by subject)
Thieves stole his car. (active)
His car was stolen. (passive)
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. (active)
The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison. (passive)
They sold some books. (active)
Some books were sold. (passive)
Example sentences using TRANSITIVE verbs
We enjoyed the concert.
I opened the door.
She kicked the ball.
He took me to a restaurant.
I saw an accident.
He copied my answer.
taken from:
http://www.grammar.cl/english/transitive-intransitive-verbs.htm
His car was stolen. (passive)
Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. (active)
The light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison. (passive)
They sold some books. (active)
Some books were sold. (passive)
Example sentences using TRANSITIVE verbs
We enjoyed the concert.
I opened the door.
She kicked the ball.
He took me to a restaurant.
I saw an accident.
He copied my answer.
taken from:
http://www.grammar.cl/english/transitive-intransitive-verbs.htm
Word of te Week
Pundit
(noun) PUN-dit
Definition
1 : a learned person : teacher
2 : a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media :critic
Examples
Grandpa likes watching liberal and conservative pundits spar about the issues of the day on the Sunday morning talk shows.
"But in general, pundits and analysts tend to overestimate the potential for early-state victories to catapult candidates to the nomination."
taken from:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/pundit-2016-01-24
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Monday, January 11, 2016
Black History Month
History
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.
From the event's initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation's public schools
The expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month was first proposed by the leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of the Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970.
In 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial, the informal expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. President Gerald Ford spoke in regards to this, urging Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.
The precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History announced the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." This week was chosen because it coincided with the birthday of Abraham Lincoln on February 12 and of Frederick Douglass on February 14, both of which dates Black communities had celebrated together since the late 19th century.
From the event's initial phase, primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated teaching of the history of American blacks in the nation's public schools
The expansion of Black History Week to Black History Month was first proposed by the leaders of the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of the Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, in February 1970.
In 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial, the informal expansion of Negro History Week to Black History Month was officially recognized by the U.S. government. President Gerald Ford spoke in regards to this, urging Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.
taken from:
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King's honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
taken from:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._Day
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