Intransitive verbs don’t have a direct or indirect object, while transitive verbs do. A trick to determine the type of verb is to ask if there is an object receiving the action. Some verbs can be both intransitive and transitive, depending on the sentence.
Unlike a transitive verb, an intransitive verb is a verb that doesn’t take a direct or indirect object. It is an action verb, but there is no object receiving the action. For example, in the sentence “Sally cried”, “cried” is an intransitive verb that has no direct or indirect object receiving the action. Some verbs, such as “run”, “dress” and “wash”, can act as both intransitive and transitive verbs. However, their sentences make it clear what kind of verbs they are.
A simple trick to determining whether a verb is an intransitive verb or a transitive verb is to see if, after reading or hearing the statement, the reader or listener can ask about a direct or indirect object. For example, if someone hears the phrase “John ran,” that person may ask, “John ran what?” The person can ask about an object that receives the action. However, in the sentence “John ran a business,” the object receiving the action, or what John performed, is clear to the listener. While both sentences are complete, it is still possible to ask about a direct or indirect object for the first sentence.
Additional examples of intransitive verbs include “rustle,” “paid,” and “slept.” In the sentence “The leaves rustled”, “rustled” is an intransitive verb. It has no direct or indirect object that receives the action. The reader or listener may ask, “What made the leaves rustle?” Similarly, in the sentences “I paid” and “You slept”, “paid” and “slept” are intransitive verbs that provide no action to any object.
Note that intransitive verbs aren’t always at the end of sentences, though. For example, in the sentence “Lucy plays every morning”, “play” is an intransitive verb but it is not at the end of the sentence. The same trick applies to intransitive verbs that don’t appear at the end of sentences. After being told “Lucy plays every morning,” the listener can ask “Lucy plays what?” Lucy might be playing a musical instrument or a board game, or she might just be playing and having fun like children do.
Depending on how they are used, some verbs can be intransitive or transitive. “Play” is an intransitive verb in the sentence “Lucy plays every morning,” but in the sentence “Lucy plays the flute every morning,” “play” is a transitive verb. For the first sentence, the reader or listener can ask, “Lucy plays what?” “Plays” takes no direct or indirect object, so the reader or listener doesn’t know what Lucy is playing, or even if she is playing anything specific. Yet, in the second sentence, the reader or listener already knows what Lucy plays every morning, and that is the flute.
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