Questions tagged [transitivity]
"Transitivity" is the number of Objects a verb takes. 'Intransitive' verbs take no Object; 'transitive verbs' take at least one Object; 'monotransitive' verbs take one Direct Object; and 'ditransitive' verbs take both a Direct Object and an Indirect Object. 'Ambitransitive' verbs may be either transitive or intransitive, and 'middle-voice' or 'labile' verbs may make an Object the Subject in the active voice
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Talk about vs Talked about
As far as i know, Transitive verb can only become passive
Well,
Look at this example
The mangers talked about the problem.
The problem was talked about.
As far as i am concerned, when ...
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grammars on "shoot me an email" vs "shoot me with an email"
According to several online pages, there are different grammatical interpretations of the structure of the phrase - shoot someone an email. To complicate it further, I've seen online a similar phrase "...
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Why the answer is "that" in "The area that the city now occupies..."?
Here is my test:
The area ....... the city now occupies was originally swampland.
A. that
B. where
C. on which
D. on that
I chose B, but the answer is A. Can you explain it to me?
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Finish doing something
I'll have dinner later after I've finished in the garden.
Is that sentence grammatically correct? I have doubts about "finish in the the garden", the verb requires an object, doesn't it?
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Does "efficiently monetizing" sounds awkward? [closed]
I'm improving a website and hope someone could help me see if the sentence below has any problem. In particular, does "efficiently monetizing" sounds awkward?
"It helps you acquire targeting users ...
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Why "be dealt cards" rather than "be dealing cards"?
I encounter such a confusing sentence:
You are dealt two cards.
I don't understand why we should use "dealt" rather than "dealing"(Present Progressive Tense) here? What is the normal tense of "...
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Using "wallow" verb with object
I see that wallow is an intransitive verb so it means that it should not be followed by an object.
But if I use wallow as:
Since that kid didn't get the ice-cream so she started wallowing on the ...
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"They seated themselves (?) either side of Harry"
In Harry Potter III, my attention was caught by the following construction:
Hermione and Ron were looking daggers at each other, and when they got
into class, they seated themselves either side ...
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*Flung* is Intransitive or Transitive?
The impact was such that the canine flung into the air and fell into a drain five meters away.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/bike-rider-booked-for-dogs-death-in-greater-noida/...
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"Tom played Mary a joke." is not natural? [closed]
I think "Tom played Mary a joke." is not natural and "Tom played a joke on Mary." is natural. What is your opinion?
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Ask him (about) the price of the car
How can I explain to my younger brother (and more importantly, to myself) that it's OK to drop about in:
Go ahead and ask the clerk (about) the price of the car.
That it would be wrong to include ...
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How to differentiate between a transitive and intransitive verb?
My teacher told me that some verbs are transitive and they requires an object after them.
She gave me a long list of transitive and intransitive verbs to learn. Can anyone give me the logic why a ...
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Is the transitive usage of "back off" common?
Both of them backed off their verbals, and eventual Indiana pledge Romeo Langford cut Louisville from his list of schools. (source)
The meaning is clear, but I find the usage of "back off" as a ...
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Can a train be boarding?
When we board a train, ship, or aircraft, we get on it:
I boarded the plane bound for London.
The ship was boarded by customs officials.
When a plane or ship is boarding, it is ready for ...
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"Fight me" or "Fight against me"?
Currently I am studying English in a school, and today I had an exam, and one question was like:
"What did your brother use to do when he was 5 years old?"
My answer was:
"He used to fight me a ...
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"Shot" vs "shot at" [duplicate]
In The Cambridge Grammar of The English Language (Huddleston & Pullum, 2002), "shoot" belongs a special category of verb, conative verbs: that is, verbs that may be used intransitively to express ...
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Can a person be "misbehaved"?
I saw a comment to this question that says:
There is a running joke in English that when a child is misbehaved, they're "your child", when they're being a good child, they're "our child" or "my ...
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"to engage in the discussion" vs. "to engage the discussion"
According to the English dictionaries,
to engage in, as an intransitive verb, means to begin an activity (Merriam-Webster), which is sensible for "to engage in the discussion with someone on some ...
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"Awakened" as transitive verb
With awakened being a transitive verb requiring a direct object, in the sentence
He was awakened by a loud crash.
is “he” both the direct object and the subject of the sentence?
The sentence was ...
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transitive verb "distract"
I learned and know that the transitive verb must go with object, and some verbs contain both transitive and intransitive but others only have transitive and intransitive, respectively.
and the verb ...
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Are all transitive verbs intransitive too?
I was reading about transitive and intransitive verbs from a website and it said that some words can be both transitive and intransitive: like the verb "run" in,
He runs for four miles daily. (...
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Can I put 'which' in place of 'where' in this sentence?
The following passage is the excerpt from a school textbook. What I want to know is whether 'where' in the passage can be replaced with 'which.'
I know the verb 'hit' can be used both as transitive ...
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Suhel Seth said "We will endure the ethos of our civilization"
I am watching a speech by Suhel Seth, and one line strikes me as odd.
The point is if we do it quickly, if we do it with alacrity, we will be safe as a nation, but more importantly, we will endure ...
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What does "Do the hinges hinge?" mean?
I heard in a movie (Kung Fu Panda 3)
How does it feel? (referring to a battle armor) Do the hinges hinge?
"Hinge"'s definitions on ODO are:
[WITH OBJECT]
1. Attach or join with or as if with ...
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Is "drive a road" grammatical?
I read somewhere
When driving a 2 lane road for a long period of time with very few places to pass other vehicles, a line of cars tends to develop behind the “slow” vehicle.
When using the verb "...
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How could an adverb come straight after a transitive verb?
What I know, or what we have been taught is we could not put adverbs directly after a verb when the verb is transitive.
Could you tell me how is this possible if “had” is a transitive verb here in ...
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Is it correct to say 'warmer weather rots the fruit'?
Although commonly used as an intransitive verb, I understand 'rot' is also a transitive verb. So is it correct to say
"Warmer weather rots the fruit."
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"I am to blame for not getting the project" vs "I am to blame to not get the project"?
The question is about a situation where I was wrong and made a mistake when a meeting happened, and thus we couldn't get the project.
"I am to blame for not getting the project"
Is that the ...
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How to distinguish transitive and intransitive verbs?
I want any key or shortcut to distinguish between transitive and intransitive verbs.Wren and Martin says that when a verb is used transitively the action passes over.But what ai am inable to ...
Abdul Ahad
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prize verb form as intransitive
here's part of an article (http://econ.st/2AASyWO):
In particular, many in the provinces do not speak Tagalog, the national language, let alone English, which employers prize (the country has eight ...
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Why can't HOPE take any direct object?
Even if HOPE can take THAT clause like this, "I hope that you're okay", why can't it take any direct object?, but only used with FOR like this, "We are hoping for good weather on Sunday."
For what ...
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"inform" as an intransitive verb?
He just wants to inform.
I am just informing.
She sometimes informs wrongly.
"Inform" is a transitive verb. (Source) But in the above sentences "inform" is used as an intransitive verb. Is such ...
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"Listening Music" [duplicate]
I was just curious that is it okay to say/write "Listening Music" if we are not writing the whole sentence.
For example, if I have to write "Listening Music" under my Hobbies sections somewhere. ...
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Is "dress" a liable verb? [closed]
Can we use the verb "dress" without a direct object or should we only use the phrasal-verb "dress up"? How different are these two sentences?
I dressed and came out.
I dressed up and came out.
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What is the correct answer to this question?
The mattress can be stored in a space as small as shoebox but _____ to a thickness of 5 inches when fully inflated.
Expanded
Expand
Expands
Expansion
I think both 1 and 3 can be the ...
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A verb 'biodegrade' as transitive and intransitive
As you can see from these examples the verb 'biodegrade' is intransitive (it no longer requires direct object = who is going to biodegrade something)
I feel like using this verb as 'passive voice ...
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"it seems to me" vs "it seems me"
I always have used 'it seems to me', but now I'm wondering if I'm correct. What is the correct form? 'it seems to me' or 'it seems me'?
Just to get a better context, look at this phrase:
That ...
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How can you determine which side of an interview you are on?
If you say "I will have an interview with Bob", it does not say whether the interviewer is you or Bob. How can you state that?
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Is "come down" or "fall down" some steps transitive?
Who can tell me why "came down some steps" looks to me as it acts like a transitive verb?
And is "some steps" an object of the verb come down?
Examples:
I came down some steps into the corridor. ...
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Verb Int. & Adv
In my grammar book it has been written that intransitive verb usually takes their adverbs immediately after them. But in the following sentence from Goodbye, Mr. Chips!, it does not happen as gave ...
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Transitive or intransitive, that is question
Transitive verb has an object.
My mother likes tea.
Tom sold his house.
But I want a drink first.
I want to be famous.
Ok, that's easy. Transitive verb, according to the rule, requires subject+...
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Using the transitive verb "optimize"
The verb optimize isn't intransitive therefore isn't ergative, so how could we use it like below? By the way, as far as I know using transitive verbs intransitively is not grammatical/possible.
The ...
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Active voice with Intransitive verbs?
Is the relationship between Active and Passive voice mutually exclusive?
A sentence not being in Passive must be assumed as a sentence in Active voice?
I'm having a little bit of trouble with this ...
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Verbs and Phrase
My question is related to verb and phrases.
I've written the following question and confused whether the sentence is correct or not.
The research on fatal heart attacks and stroke makes ...
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We are going to eat- after eat, must be a noun?
"We are going to eat." I told my son.
Is the sentence above a complete sentence?
After eat, must be a noun?
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The verb "propose" with the indirect object
Is this sentence gramatically correct? Is it acceptable to use the indirect object (us) here?
They proposed us a plan.
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Which one is correct. I oppose to taking a drug or I'm opposed to taking a drug?
Which is the correct sentence?
1)I oppose to taking a drug.
2)I'm opposed to taking a drug.
I have a problem in understanding the 2nd one.
"I'm opposed" makes sense when there is another subject ...
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Using of "fit" in meaning of "matched" about couple / partner
Is it ok to use "fit" in meaning of "matched" about couple / partner?
For example: I think that they fit (=they match).
In addition, in the same topic, is it correct to use these verbs (fit and ...
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Can I omit the object of a transitive verb? [closed]
Is the sentences:"I eat" grammatical? Here, "eat" is transitive, but I don't use any object.
Regards
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Can you "fear doing something"?
Could I say sentences like : "I fear skydiving" or "I fear being enclosed in small spaces" or are such sentences wrong? Would I have to use "scared of skydiving/being enclosed etc" or do I need to add ...
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