TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS

• When a verb is in the Active Voice, the subject of the verb refers to the person or thing performing the action described by the verb

• and the object of the verb refers to the person or thing receiving the action described by the verb.

e.g. He read the book.

I did not see the balloon

They ate the potatoes quickly.

She rode her bicycle along the sidewalk.

Do we understand it?

• In these sentences, the verbs read, did see, ate, rode and do understand are in the Active Voice; and the words book, balloon, potatoes, bicycle and it are the objects of the verbs. These objects are said to be direct objects, because they refer to things which receive directly the actions described by the verbs.

2. Lay and Lie, Raise and Rise, and Set and Sit

• Verbs which take an object are usually called transitive verbs. Verbs which do not take an object are usually called intransitive verbs.

• Many English verbs can be used either intransitively or transitively. For instance, in the sentence Most birds can fly, the verb to fly is intransitive, since it is used without an object

• But in the sentence This pilot will fly the plane, the verb to fly is transitive, since it takes the object plane.

InfinitiveSimple pastPast participle

TransitiveTo laylaidLaid

IntransitiveTo lielaylain

Transitive To raiseraisedraised

intransitiveTo riseroserisen

transitiveTo setsetset

Intransitive To sitsatsat

• Particular care must be taken not to confuse the verbs to lay and to lie, since, as shown above, the Simple Past of the verb to lie has the same form as the bare infinitive of the verb to lay.

a. To Lay and To Lie

• To lay is a transitive verb, which can take an object. The following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb to lay. The verbs are underlined, and the objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.

• e.g. I am laying the table.• He laid a bet on the white horse.• The hen has laid an egg.

• To lie is an intransitive verb, which cannot take an object. The following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb to lie.

• e.g. She is lying on the sofa.

• We lay on the beach in the sun.

• He has lain in bed for a week.

• In these examples, it might appear that the words sofa, beach, and bed act as objects of the verb to lie. However, this is not the case.

• Not only verbs, but also prepositions have the ability to take objects. A few commonly used English prepositions are at, by, for, from, in, of, on, to and with. Prepositions will be discussed in detail in a later chapter.

b. To Raise and To Rise

• To raise is a transitive verb, which can take an object. The following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb to raise. The verbs are underlined, and the objects of the verbs are printed in bold type.

• e.g. She is raising poodles.

• He raised the window.

• They have raised a crop of wheat

• To rise is an intransitive verb, which cannot take an object. The following examples illustrate the use of the Present Continuous, Simple Past, and Present Perfect tenses of the verb to rise.

• e.g. The moon is rising in the east.

• They rose to the occasion.

• The temperature has risen by five degrees.

c. To Set and To Sit

• e.g. They are setting a record.

• We set the jars on a shelf.

• Have you set the date for your trip?

• They are sitting by the front steps.

• I sat at my desk for an hour.

• You have sat on the couch all afternoon.

• 1. I watched the birds.• 2. He did not close the window.• 3. She rang the bell.• 4. Did you find the answer?• 5. I opened the door.• 6. Did she play the violin?• 7. You will need an umbrella.• 8. They are not carrying the parcels.• 9. You organized the race.• 10. Were they using the blankets?

• Depending upon whether or not there is a direct object, complete each sentence using either to lay or to lie, as appropriate. Use the Present Continuous tense if the action takes place in the present, and use the Simple Past tense if the action took place in the past

• 1. Now I ______________ too close to the fire.

• 2. Last night he _____________ twenty dollars on top of the bookcase.

• 3. Right now she _______________ a fire.• 4. Until last year, the treasure

______________ hidden under the earth.• 5. Yesterday she ______________ her

coat on the bed.

• 6. His books _____________ on the floor all last week.

• 7. Right now he _______________ low in order to stay out of danger.

• 8. Yesterday morning he ______________ the parcel close to the door.

• 9. Last night they _____________ in wait for the thieves.

• 10. Now they ________________ their cards on the table.

• Depending upon whether or not there is a direct object, complete each sentence using either to raise or to rise, as appropriate. Use the Present Continuous tense if the action takes place in the present; and use the Simple Past tense if the action took place in the past.

• 1. Last night, when we heard the news, our hopes _____________.

• 2. Last year they _________ six hundred dollars by selling chocolate bars.

• 3. Now they ______________ the price of gasoline.

• 4. The price of gold _____________ yesterday.• 5. At the moment, he ______________ corn.

• 6. Right now mist _______________ from the water.

• 7. Last week, you _____________ a difficult question.

• 8. The temperature _____________ at the moment.

• 9. Now he _____________ his hat.• 10. The water level ______________ last

week.

either to set or to sit

• 1. Right now they ______________ down to a good meal.

• 2. Yesterday they _____________ the empty bottles on the front step.

• 3. At the moment, she _______________ in front of the fire.

• 4. Now we _______________ the suitcases on the moving belt.

• 5. In ancient times, King Arthur's knights ____________ at the Round Table.

• 6. Yesterday morning the doctor _____________ the broken bone.

• 7. Right now, we _______________ around the table.

• 8. He ______________ a good example last week, by studying hard.

• 9. Now she ______________ her watch to the correct time.

• 10. Yesterday afternoon we ___________ at the end of the dock, in the sun.

Answers to Exercise 1:

• 1. birds 2. window 3. bell 4. answer 5. door 6. violin 7. umbrella 8. parcels 9. race 10. blankets

• Answers to Exercise 2:

• 1. am lying 2. laid 3. is laying 4. lay 5. laid 6. lay 7. is lying 8. laid 9. lay 10. are laying

• Answers to Exercise 3:

• 1. rose 2. raised 3. are raising 4. rose 5. is raising 6. is rising 7. raised 8. is rising 9. is raising 10. rose

• Answers to Exercise 4:

• 1. are sitting 2. set 3. is sitting 4. are setting 5. sat 6. set 7. are sitting 8. set 9. is setting 10. sat