Transitive and Intransitive Verb Examples & Exercises
Transitive and intransitive verb examples are given at the bottom of this page.
Look at them before you try the transitive and intransitive verb exercise below.
Transitive and Intransitive Verb Exercise
Instructions: Study the sentences below. Identify the verbs in each one and determine whether they are transitive or intransitive.
(1) Our team went to the league championship last year.
(2) She shut down the computer on her way out of the office.
(3) They sent letters to all of their customers about the new product.
(4) Some students complain about the amount of homework on the course.
(5) I ate my breakfast in such a hurry this morning.
(6) I watched the DVD from the library last night.
(7) The referee blew the whistle for the penalty.
(8) She picked her favourite flowers from the garden.
(9) My family took a trip to Disneyland two years ago.
(10) I eat far too much sometimes.
(11) Tom hit Bill with the instrument by accident.
(12) She is going to marry him next year.
(13) The museum closes at 7:00 PM.
(14) He is doing well in his new job.
(15) I changed the tyre on the car yesterday.
Transitive and Intransitive Verb Exercise – Answers
(1) The verb is went. It is intransitive.
(2) The verb is shut down. It is a transitive phrasal verb. The object is computer.
(3) The verb is sent. It is transitive. The grammatical object is letters.
(4) The verb is complain. It is intransitive and is usually used with the preposition “about.”
(5) The verb is ate. It is transitive. The grammatical object is my breakfast.
(6) The verb is watched. It is transitive. The grammatical object is the DVD.
(7) The verb is blew. It is transitive. The grammatical object is the whistle.
(8) The verb is picked. It is transitive. The grammatical object is her favourite flowers.
(9) The verb is took. It is transitive. The grammatical object is a trip.
(10) The verb is eat. It is intransitive in this case since it is describing an action in general.
(11) The verb is hit. It is transitive. The grammatical object is Bill.
(12) The verb is marry. It is transitive. The grammatical object is him.
(13) The verb is closes. It is intransitive in this sentence.
(14) The verb is doing. It is intransitive in this sentence.
(15) The verb is change. It is transitive in this sentence. The grammatical object is the tyre.
What are Transitive Verbs?
Transitive verbs must take a grammatical object.
In other words, transitive verbs give an action from one person or thing to another.
Transitive verb: He loved his wife and children so much.
The action of loving is given to the man’s wife and children.
So the verb “love” is transitive.
What are Intransitive Verbs?
Intransitive verbs do not take an object.
The grammatical subject of the sentence performs an action.
However, the action is not given to a person or thing.
Intransitive verb: I stayed inside all day yesterday.
The grammatical subject of the sentence is “I.”
The verb is “stayed,” which is intransitive.
Please notice that the words “all day” and “yesterday” function as adverbials.
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs – Examples
Look at the following examples.
Which one is transitive and which one is intransitive?
Sentence 1: He hit the other car because he wasn’t paying attention to the traffic.
Sentence 2: I slept all day long because I was exhausted from so working hard the previous day.
The verb in sentence 1 (“hit”) is transitive. The other car receives the action of being hit.
The verb in sentence 2 (“slept”) is intransitive. The phrase “all day long” is an adverbial phrase, not a grammatical object.
Oxford Dictionary – Help with Intransitive and Transitive Verbs
