{"id":8378,"date":"2020-10-01T15:29:27","date_gmt":"2020-10-01T15:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=8378"},"modified":"2023-09-08T14:30:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T14:30:57","slug":"transitive-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/transitive-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Transitive Verbs: The Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>img#mv-trellis-img-1::before{padding-top:150%; }img#mv-trellis-img-1{display:block;}<\/style><p>Have you ever wondered why some verbs in a sentence need an object while others don&rsquo;t?<\/p>\n<p>You&rsquo;re not alone.<\/p>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s unpack the mystery of transitive verbs and see how they differ from other types of verbs.<\/p>\n<p>Ready, set, go!<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n<strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#what-is-a-transitive-verb\">What is a Transitive Verb?<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#basic-explanation-of-transitivity\">A Basic Explanation of Transitivity<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#identifying-transitive-verbs\">Identifying Transitive Verbs<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#direct-and-indirect-objects\">Direct and Indirect Objects<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#using-transitive-verbs-with-direct-object\">Using Transitive Verbs with a Direct Object<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#using-transitive-verbs-with-direct-object-and-indirect-object\">Using Transitive Verbs with a Direct and Indirect Object<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#verbs-that-can-be-transitive-or-intransitive\">Verbs that can be Transitive or Intransitive<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#complete-and-incomplete-predication\">Complete and Incomplete Predication<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#identifying-transitive-verbs-with-predication\">Identifying Transitive Verbs with Predication<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#transitive-verbs-and-passive-voice\">Transitive Verbs and Passive Voice<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#the-essential-properties-of-transitive-verbs-a-review\">The Essential Properties of Transitive Verbs: A Review<\/a><\/strong><br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n<strong><a href=\"#shortcuts-to-identify-a-transitive-verb\">Shortcuts to Identify a Transitive Verb<\/a><\/strong>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-is-a-transitive-verb\">\n<h2>What is a transitive verb?<\/h2>\n<\/h2><p><strong>A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object to complete its meaning. It is an action directed toward a person or thing. Examples include &ldquo;eat,&rdquo; &ldquo;read,&rdquo; and &ldquo;kick.&rdquo; These verbs can take adverbs or adverbial phrases, but a direct object is essential for grammatical completeness.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For example, if you kick a ball, you are directly affecting it. If your action word has no object at all or only impacts something indirectly, it is intransitive.<\/p>\n<p>Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive, depending on context.<\/p>\n<p>For example, a person having a bad nightmare might kick and thrash in their sleep.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure you are dealing with a transitive verb, look for an object directly affected by the verb.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"basic-explanation-of-transitivity\">A basic explanation of transitivity<\/h2>\n<p>Linguistically speaking, the property that rules whether a verb is transitive or intransitive is called its transitivity.<\/p>\n<p>Verbs &ldquo;accept&rdquo; various things as what linguists call arguments.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, an argument is any word or phrase which comes after the subject and verb in a sentence. These arguments can be anything from objects to abstract ideas.<\/p>\n<p>For example, in &ldquo;the sky is blue,&rdquo; the word &ldquo;blue&rdquo; is the argument of the verb &ldquo;is.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to transitive verbs, the only argument accepted is a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Here, we must break down a bit more grammar terminology.<\/p>\n<p>An object is simply an argument that is affected by the verb in some way. In the sentence &ldquo;I kicked the ball,&rdquo; the object is &ldquo;the ball&rdquo; because that is what is being affected by the verb &ldquo;kicked.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It is a direct object because it is directly affected by the verb. In the sentence &ldquo;I kicked the ball to Judy,&rdquo; there are two objects.<\/p>\n<p>The direct object, &ldquo;the ball,&rdquo; is followed by an indirect object, &ldquo;Judy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>We&rsquo;ll look more at the details of this later on. For now, let&rsquo;s continue to examine how to identify a transitive verb.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"identifying-transitive-verbs\">Identifying transitive verbs<\/h2>\n<p>As noted, the only way to identify transitive verbs is to look for a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>To reiterate, a direct object is any noun or phrase which is directly affected by a verb.<\/p>\n<p>When you see a sentence, and you are trying to determine if the verb is transitive, ask yourself if the object is immediately receiving the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallaudet.edu\/tutorial-and-instructional-programs\/english-center\/grammar-and-vocabulary\/verbs\/action-verbs-and-linking-verbs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">action<\/a><\/strong> or if it is involved in some other way.<\/p>\n<p>If the object is immediately receiving the action, it is a direct object, and the verb that affects it is a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p>Some verbs can be transitive and intransitive depending on context, so you can&rsquo;t skip this step by memorizing a list of verbs. The only way to be sure is to find that direct object.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;I kicked the ball to Judy.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nHere&rsquo;s our earlier example.<\/p>\n<p>Again, &ldquo;the ball&rdquo; is the direct object of the verb &ldquo;kicked.&rdquo; This makes it a transitive verb. We don&rsquo;t need to worry about whether Judy is a direct object or not because we have already found a direct object for our verb.<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;After I kicked the ball to Judy, she scored a goal.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nThis sentence is tricky because it has two clauses and, thus, two verbs.<\/p>\n<p>Both verbs are transitive. We&rsquo;ve already discussed the verb &ldquo;kicked&rdquo; in this context, so the reason that the verb is transitive should be clear.<\/p>\n<p>Although it seems like &ldquo;scored&rdquo; might not be transitive, the noun phase &ldquo;a goal&rdquo; is in fact its direct object. Even <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-though\/\">though<\/a><\/strong> the &ldquo;goal&rdquo; is an abstract idea, it is still what was directly affected by the verb &ldquo;scored.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>To properly understand when an object is a direct object, let&rsquo;s take a look at direct and indirect objects.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"direct-and-indirect-objects\">Direct and indirect objects<\/h2>\n<p>Let&rsquo;s take a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/bruh-moment\/\">moment<\/a><\/strong> to examine direct and indirect objects a bit more clearly.<\/p>\n<p>As we&rsquo;ve already briefly discussed, a direct object is one that is directly acted upon by the verb in a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Indirect objects are similar but not identical.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, they are an object which is affected by the verb but is not being directly acted upon.<\/p>\n<p>One way to identify indirect objects is by looking for prepositions like &ldquo;to,&rdquo; &ldquo;on&rdquo; or &ldquo;by.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Any time you see one of these before a noun or noun phrase, you can be sure it&rsquo;s not a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>However, depending on the way a sentence is worded you may see indirect objects that do not use prepositions.<\/p>\n<p>The good <a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/newses-as-a-plural-of-news\/\">news<\/a> for transitive verbs is that you don&rsquo;t really need to pay attention to the indirect object a verb may have.<\/p>\n<p>All you need to do is look for a direct object or an object that is directly impacted by the verb, to know if you are looking at a transitive verb.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;I kicked the ball to Judy.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nIn this familiar sentence, we already know &ldquo;the ball&rdquo; is the direct object.<\/p>\n<p>What about Judy? She isn&rsquo;t a direct object, or we&rsquo;d have a much more violent sentence: &ldquo;I kicked Judy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That, and the helping word &ldquo;to,&rdquo; clue us in to Judy&rsquo;s status as an indirect object of the verb &ldquo;kicked.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In other words, Judy is affected by the action of &ldquo;kicked&rdquo; because she gets the ball. She isn&rsquo;t herself getting kicked.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I ate the cheeseburger in my car.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Here, &ldquo;ate&rdquo; is a transitive verb, taking the direct object &ldquo;the cheeseburger.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Going by our previous example, because the speaker is not eating their car, the word &ldquo;car&rdquo; is an indirect object.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;He gave me a present.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Even though &ldquo;me&rdquo; comes directly after the verb in this sentence, it isn&rsquo;t the direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Confused?<\/p>\n<p>Then let this <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/let-that-sink-in-meaning\/\">sink in<\/a><\/strong>: What is being given?<\/p>\n<p>If you think about it more, it&rsquo;s clear that the present is what&rsquo;s being given, and it is being given &ldquo;to me.&rdquo; That makes &ldquo;present&rdquo; the direct object&rdquo; and &ldquo;me&rdquo; the indirect object.<\/p>\n<p>However, because of the way the sentence is phrased, the preposition &ldquo;to&rdquo; has been dropped due to other grammar rules.<\/p>\n<p>Again, if we were just trying to figure out if &ldquo;gave&rdquo; is a transitive verb, all we would have to do is figure out that there is in fact a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to know more about determining if a verb with an indirect object is intransitive, make sure to review our detailed <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/intransitive-verbs\/\">guide to intransitive verbs<\/a><\/strong>.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"using-transitive-verbs-with-direct-object\">Using transitive verbs with a direct object<\/h2>\n<p>The only essential characteristic of a transitive verb, to reiterate, is that it requires a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>This means it&rsquo;s impossible to use a transitive verb without a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Because <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/appositive-phrases\/\">English grammar<\/a><\/strong> varies, there is no foolproof formula for <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-including\/\">including<\/a><\/strong> a direct object after a verb.<\/p>\n<p>However, in most cases, transitive verbs will follow the pattern below if the sentence <strong>only<\/strong> includes a direct object:<\/p>\n[subject] [verb] [direct object]\n<p>It&rsquo;s important to be sure that the word or phrase following a verb is actually a direct object. As already discussed, verbs can take other arguments.<\/p>\n<p>If you&rsquo;re not careful, you might misidentify one of these as a direct object, leading you to incorrectly think that a verb is transitive.<\/p>\n<p>For example, verbs like &ldquo;is&rdquo; and &ldquo;was&rdquo; are not transitive verbs, even though they are typically followed by an argument. Even if we say &ldquo;the ball was yellow,&rdquo; the verb is not transitive, and &ldquo;yellow&rdquo; is not a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>That&rsquo;s a bit confusing, but <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-after-hopefully\/\">hopefully<\/a> <\/strong>it makes sense if you think that the ball is not directly affecting yellow in any way. Yellow is simply a description of the ball.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;The ball struck the net.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nHere, the verb &ldquo;struck&rdquo; is transitive because what follows it, &ldquo;the net,&rdquo; is a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Remember that direct objects are those which are directly impacted by the action of a verb. Here, the net is directly struck by the ball.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The music hurt my ears.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Again, this is a fairly simple sentence. The direct object, &ldquo;my ears,&rdquo; is directly impacted by the verb &ldquo;hurt.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;After I kicked the ball, it struck the back of the net.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This sentence is more complex, but the basic pattern holds in each of its two clauses.<\/p>\n<p>Clause one, &ldquo;After I kicked the ball,&rdquo; follows our already familiar pattern.<\/p>\n<p>Clause two contains a phrase, &ldquo;the back of the net,&rdquo; as its direct object, but again is the same pattern.<\/p>\n<p>The verb &ldquo;struck&rdquo; directly impacts that whole <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/how-to-use-the-phrase-if-any\/\">phrase<\/a><\/strong>.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"using-transitive-verbs-with-direct-object-and-indirect-object\">Using transitive verbs with a direct and indirect object<\/h2>\n<p>Although transitive verbs will always require a direct object, an indirect object is optional and may not always be included.<\/p>\n<p>Typically, sentences with transitive verbs, a direct object, and an indirect object will follow one of the two patterns below:<\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">\n[subject] [verb] [direct object] [preposition] [indirect object]\n&nbsp;<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n[subject] [verb] [indirect object] [direct object]\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As usual, remember that other words can take the place of objects in a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Remember as well that an object can be made up of a phrase such as &ldquo;the yellow ball&rdquo; instead of a single noun.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;She gave me a present.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nThis is a repeat of our earlier example sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Reviewing it with the patterns above, we can see it follows pattern number two.<\/p>\n<p>Again, don&rsquo;t be tripped up by the switch in the usual sentence order.<\/p>\n<p>Just ask yourself: &ldquo;What is being given? What is the verb directly impacting?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The scientist shot the canister into the sun while laughing madly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This sentence has a direct object, an indirect object, and an argument that describes the subject in more detail.<\/p>\n<p>The canister is what is being shot, which makes it the direct object.<\/p>\n<p>The sun is not directly impacted by the verb &ldquo;shot,&rdquo; but it is affected as the target for the canister. That makes the sun our indirect object in this sentence.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase &ldquo;while laughing madly&rdquo; is an additional argument. It simply describes the scientist and does not affect the transitivity of the verb.<\/p>\n<p>Because this sentence has a clear direct object (&ldquo;the canister&rdquo;), the verb it contains is a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8793\" src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png\" alt=\"Transitive Verbs\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-758x1137.png 758w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png\"><\/noscript><img loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8793 eager-load\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg'%20viewBox='0%200%20924%201386'%3E%3Crect%20width='924'%20height='1386'%20style='fill:%23e3e3e3'\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" alt=\"Transitive Verbs\" width=\"924\" height=\"1386\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 924px) 100vw, 924px\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png\" id=\"mv-trellis-img-1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin.png 320w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-200x300.png 200w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-683x1024.png 683w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-768x1152.png 768w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-561x842.png 561w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-364x546.png 364w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-728x1092.png 728w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-608x912.png 608w, https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Transitive-Verbs-Pin-758x1137.png 758w\" data-svg=\"1\" data-trellis-processed=\"1\"><br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"verbs-that-can-be-transitive-or-intransitive\">Verbs that can be transitive or intransitive<\/h2>\n<p>Most verbs are always either transitive or intransitive.<\/p>\n<p>However, because English is a pretty flexible language, in some cases a verb can be transitive or intransitive depending on the context of the sentence or clause it is in.<\/p>\n<p>A few examples of this kind of verb include &ldquo;breathe,&rdquo; which might be used to refer to a specific substance or the general act of breathing, and &ldquo;kick,&rdquo; which can be used to describe kicking a specific object or the motion of kicking itself.<\/p>\n<p>This fact about verbs means there is no way to memorize a list of &ldquo;transitive verbs&rdquo; because such a list does not exist and would be incomplete at best if it did.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, that means you don&rsquo;t need to memorize a list of transitive verbs!<\/p>\n<p>Instead, to see if the verb is transitive, you need to examine it in its current clause or sentence and see whether it takes a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>As has already been noted several times, what makes a verb a transitive verb is the presence of a direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Without a direct object, a verb is intransitive, as described in our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/intransitive-verbs\/\">guide to intransitive verbs<\/a><\/strong>.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Examples<\/h3>\n<div class=\"content-box-grey\">&ldquo;Sam and I high-fived after I scored a goal.&rdquo;<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<br>\nAs we&rsquo;ve already seen, &ldquo;scored&rdquo; is a transitive verb with a direct object of &ldquo;a goal.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>What about high-fived?<\/p>\n<p>The fact that this action is taken by two people may be confusing but don&rsquo;t get tripped up. Based on its location at the beginning of this sentence, &ldquo;Sam and I&rdquo; is actually the subject.<\/p>\n<p>This makes sense when you think about it. Both people are the ones performing the verb &ldquo;high-fived.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Is there a direct object for &ldquo;high-fived,&rdquo; something which is directly acted on?<\/p>\n<p>If we rephrased the sentence, we could have one: &ldquo;I high-fived Sam.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Now, Sam is part of the predicate rather than the subject and is the direct object of the verb. In this case, &ldquo;high-fived&rdquo; is transitive.<\/p>\n<p>However, in our original sentence, &ldquo;Sam and I high-fived.&rdquo; Because Sam is part of the subject, he can&rsquo;t be the direct object.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, there is no direct object in the clause &ldquo;Sam and I high-fived,&rdquo; making the verb an intransitive one in our original example.<\/p>\n<p>This is an important reminder that the only thing that makes a verb transitive is if it acts upon a direct object in the context you are considering. Don&rsquo;t get mixed up by other possible sentences!<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"complete-and-incomplete-predication\">Complete and Incomplete Predication<\/h2>\n<p>A full description of predication is in our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/intransitive-verbs\/#Predication_What_is_it_and_what_does_it_have_to_do_with_intransitive_verbs\">guide on intransitive verbs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>To save time, we won&rsquo;t go into the details here and will make do with a quick summary.<\/p>\n<p>Put simply, then, any English sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. The predicate is just the part of the sentence containing the verb and any objects or other arguments.<\/p>\n<p>In the sentence &ldquo;I kicked the ball,&rdquo; the word &ldquo;I&rdquo; is the subject, and the phrase &ldquo;kicked the ball&rdquo; is the predicate.<\/p>\n<p>There are two types of predication: complete predication and incomplete predication.<\/p>\n<p>Both of these terms refer not to the predicate as a whole but to the verb which is part of the predicate.<\/p>\n<p>In plain English, if a verb is <strong>the only thing<\/strong> in the predicate of a sentence, that verb is an example of complete predication.<\/p>\n<p>If, on the other hand, a verb is <strong>not<\/strong> the only thing in the predicate, it is an example of incomplete predication.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"identifying-transitive-verbs-with-predication\">Identifying transitive verbs with predication<\/h2>\n<p>Although predication doesn&rsquo;t help when it comes to identifying intransitive verbs because intransitive verbs can sometimes include indirect objects.<\/p>\n<p>This means you can see examples of both complete predication and incomplete predication with intransitive verbs.<\/p>\n<p>For transitive verbs, things are a little simpler.<\/p>\n<p>If you ever see a sentence <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-where\/\">where<\/a><\/strong> the verb is an instance of complete predication, you can be sure it is not a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p>This is because a transitive verb absolutely requires a direct object, so it can never be the entire predicate of a sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Note, however, that just because a verb is an instance of incomplete predication does not automatically mean it is a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p>Again, intransitive verbs can take indirect objects, meaning they can be either complete or incomplete predicates.<\/p>\n<p>All the same, it&rsquo;s nice to be able to rule out some verbs as transitive based on their status as the complete predicate of a sentence.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"transitive-verbs-and-passive-voice\">Transitive verbs and passive voice<\/h2>\n<p>Sentences in English can have two types of voice.<\/p>\n<p>In the first, &ldquo;active voice,&rdquo; verbs act upon the object of the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>For example, &ldquo;I ate the cheeseburger&rdquo; is in the active voice because the subject, &ldquo;I,&rdquo; is in the subject position while the object, &ldquo;the cheeseburger,&rdquo; follows the verb.<\/p>\n<p>In the second, &ldquo;passive voice,&rdquo; the object of the verb appears in the subject position of the sentence and the subject of the verb may appear in the predicate or not at all.<\/p>\n<p>The passive equivalent of the previous sentence is &ldquo;The cheeseburger was eaten by me.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/meaning-of-on-a-side-note\/\">Note<\/a><\/strong> that the object of the verb now appears in the subject position.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>What happens to transitive verbs in the passive voice<\/h3>\n<p>The grammar is counter-intuitive and confusing even to professional English teachers. But transitive verbs actually become intransitive if an active voice sentence is re-written in passive voice.<\/p>\n<p>This is because putting the object into the subject position means it is not a direct object anymore, and the subject, now in the predicate position, is actually an indirect object, as indicated by the preposition preceding it.<\/p>\n<p>However, because this is very confusing, it&rsquo;s best to check with your teacher if you are doing an assignment that asks you to determine the transitivity of a verb in a passive voice sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Some teachers may have different understandings of grammar, and you don&rsquo;t want to get marked wrong on a technicality.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Example<\/h3>\n<p>Active voice: &ldquo;I kicked the ball.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Passive voice: &ldquo;The ball was kicked by me.&rdquo; or &ldquo;The ball was kicked.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the active voice sentence, &ldquo;the ball&rdquo; is clearly the direct object, as it is directly impacted by the verb.<\/p>\n<p>Note, however, that &ldquo;the ball&rdquo; has moved out of the predicate position and is now in the subject position in the passive voice sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Even if the subject &ldquo;me&rdquo; is moved to the predicate instead of dropped completely, it can&rsquo;t act as a direct object because &ldquo;me&rdquo; is not what is being kicked.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, even though it&rsquo;s confusing, the verb &ldquo;kicked&rdquo; is technically intransitive in the passive voice.<br>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-essential-properties-of-transitive-verbs-a-review\">The essential properties of transitive verbs: a review<\/h2>\n<p>This has been a lengthy guide, so let&rsquo;s do a review of a transitive verb&rsquo;s core element.<\/p>\n<p>Put simply, there&rsquo;s only one: A transitive verb <strong>must have a direct object<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The direct object, again, is the noun or noun phrase that is directly impacted by the verb in the sentence or clause.<\/p>\n<p>If there&rsquo;s no direct object, the verb you are looking at is intransitive. (Need a refresher on what that means? Check out our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/intransitive-verbs\/#Predication_What_is_it_and_what_does_it_have_to_do_with_intransitive_verbs\">guide to intransitive verbs<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n<p>Transitive verbs can also take indirect objects and other arguments, but these don&rsquo;t affect their status as transitive verbs.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, remember that whether verbs are transitive or intransitive depends on the context they are in.<\/p>\n<p>You can&rsquo;t define a verb as always transitive or intransitive. Rather, you need to look at the specific sentence or clause to get the answer to this question.<br>\n&nbsp;<br>\n[toc]\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"shortcuts-to-identify-a-transitive-verb\">Shortcuts to identify a transitive verb<\/h2>\n<p>Here are a few questions you can ask to determine the transitivity of a verb in a given sentence.<\/p>\n<p>1. Is the verb followed by a direct object?<br>\n2. Can it be followed by a &ldquo;what&rdquo; or by a &ldquo;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/comma-before-who\/\">who<\/a><\/strong>&ldquo;?<br>\n3. Is it a linking verb?<\/p>\n<p>If the answer to either of the first two questions is &ldquo;yes,&rdquo; then you are dealing with a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p>Linking verbs, on the other hand, are always intransitive, so if you are looking at a linking verb such as is, are, or seems then you are not dealing with a transitive verb.<\/p>\n<p>However, it needs to be pointed out that not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With that said, these shortcuts provide a good starting point, but certain exceptions and nuances need to be considered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever wondered why some verbs in a sentence need an object while others don&rsquo;t? You&rsquo;re not alone. Let&rsquo;s unpack the mystery of transitive verbs and see how they differ from other types of verbs. Ready, set, go! Table of Contents &nbsp; What is a Transitive Verb? &nbsp; A Basic Explanation of Transitivity &nbsp; &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable-in-feed":false,"article-schema-type":"","disable-critical-css":false,"_convertkit_action_broadcast_export":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8378"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8378\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27329,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8378\/revisions\/27329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}