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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"Please come to me" or "Please come here" or "Please come to my desk." [closed]
In my workplace many of my colleague are using the phrase "Please come to me" is that a correct a sentence?
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What is the difference between the two sentences including the work, revenge?
He took revenge on the trouble she made.
He revenged the trouble she made.
What is the difference between two sentences in meaning?
And why do I have to use verb phrase like 'take revenge on' instead ...
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Have experience in planning
I have a sentence with a gap :
I have experience ___.
A.for planning
B.planning
C.with planning
D.on planning smth
Could anyone advise me what to put into the gap, please. All four options ...
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What's the difference between "Don't fight me." and "Don't fight with me."?
I want to know the difference between "Don't fight me." and "Don't fight with me.".
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Is 'dream' a transitive verb or intransitive verb?
I dream of winning a gold medal in next Olympics.
Is the verb – dream – in this sentence transitive or intransitive? If it happens to be transitive, how can we passivize the sentence? I ...
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Flee from vs flee
Look at the following sentences.
Many people fled the city to escape the fighting.
Refugees fled from the city.
They fled the country in 1987.
The family fled from Nazi Germany to Britain ...
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Are these sentences grammatically and logically correct by using "miss not doing something"？
I came across this sentence today,
I’m the oldest child in my family and have missed not having an older sibling to lean on.
I don't think the sentence is right,because miss is mostly a transitive ...
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Does this verb "lurk" in the sentence is used as a transitive verb?
sentence: Behind the invective lurked a vision of Europe as a
consortium of sovereign nations, free from politically correct elites
and pesky foreigners.
But the dictionary doesn't say about the ...
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Is "bother" an ergative verb?
I have this list for comparing verbs for their being ergative or not. As you see, bother is not on that list. But I have sentences in which that verb seems to be ergative.
For example:
She may bother ...
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"The children are happily playing" — grammatically correct?
I would like to seek clarification on this sentence.
The children are happily playing.
Is it grammatically correct? Or should there be a place as an object to follow?
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At the performance attended many important people and graduates. - grammar
At the performance attended many important people and graduates.
Is this sentence corrrect?
It seems very similar to:
At the performance were many important people and graduates.
This last ...
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The intransitive word "disagree"
The word "disagree" is intransitive so why in this sentence
It is unusual for you and Tom to disagree"
is there no "with" or "upon" to follow it?
Is its meaning the same as "It is unusual for you ...
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What is the grammatical difference between "think" and "support"
A friend of mine is learning English. Today, while studying, we ran into a situation that I (as a native English speaker) don't know how to explain.
To think and to support are both transitive verbs. ...
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Changing subjects in a sentence: treated to, adsorbed with?
Can I change the first sentence to the following sentence?
1) The cells were treated with enzyme A.
-> The enzyme A was treated to the cells.
2) The protein was adsorbed to the nanoparticle.
-> The ...
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"In order to help serve you better..."
This sentence is from a Japanese book for English language learners. It's a transcript of a public announcement recording. I was asked whether the sentence is correct.
I am not a native speaker and ...
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Does ‘I want to ensure.’ as a response properly use ‘ensure’?
Example
Person A: The keys are not in the car. Do not bother looking there.
Person B: I just want to ensure.
It sounds slightly unnatural, but ‘ensure’ is replacing ‘make sure’, which is correct, ...
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Being read to me and being read to
Here is a sentence:
I enjoy when someone read to me.
I think the passive form of this sentence could be:
I enjoy being read to me.
I found the following sentence where "me" is ...
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"Asking the driver" or "Asking to the driver"?
I've seen this sentence: "I'm asking the driver where we're going."
But I'd usually say: "I'm asking to the driver where we're going."
Are both forms correct? Do they have a change in meaning?
EDIT:...
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Do I need "about" or not?
No one cares about what you look like.
No one cares what you look like.
I don't care about what they say.
I don't care what they say.
Is "about" optional, necessary or wrong?
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What is the meaning of ''cry oneself"?
I came across this phrase/these words while reading a novel. What does it mean?
Like If I say :
I cried myself.
I wanted to cry myself.
Does it mean crying over oneself? I mean crying over ...
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usage of "too--for--to--"
The coffee is too hot for me to drink.
The coffee is too hot for me to drink** it.
I want to know whether I need to put "object" after "infinitive" in "too--for--to" pattern.
In which ...
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"prize awarded him" vs. "prize awarded to him"
The verb award is ditransitive, Oxford Dictionary says:
1. [with two objects]
Give or order the giving of (something) as an official payment, compensation, or prize to (someone)
‘The ...
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Is "V-ing of something" structure always possible?
I just have read an article of gerund on Grammar girl
and started to wonder.
Can transitive verbs always have gerund form followed by "of objective" ?
As shown on the site,
they defuse the bomb.
...
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Is "I was slept when he came back... " grammatical?
I was slept when he came back to the home.
The above statement has three verbs in the past tense.
was = is
slept = sleep
came = come
My questions:
Are "I was slept" and "he came back to home" ...
mustho
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When do we use tell+infinitive with to ? (Not tell + object + to)
I'm looking for an example of using 'tell + infinitive with to'.
My book said 'tell' can be used with infinitive to, but didn't give me an example. I think that it generally comes 'tell+object+...
Sam
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Do I need to use "of"
My mother finally approved of our plan.
My mother finally approved our plan.
My parents approved of my marrying girl.
My parents approved my marrying girl.
Do I need to use "of" or can be ...
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Can I use repeat as intransitive verb?
okay I give up, original sentence was this from my writing:
"Now that you have read the insights, in order to move on to the future, you would be better off if you now leave them behind. There will be ...
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Why didn't they use the passive form in the following sentence?
I was studying the past continuous in "Grammar in Use, Cambridge University Press" and I saw a sentence that is strange for me:
I was doing something: I was in the middle of doing something at a ...
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"has not sold" vs. "didn't sell"
I got this email from a colleague:
I am writing because product #55 has not sold and we would like to expand the list...
Is this the right sentence structure or should it be written:
I am ...
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Can the verb 'release' be used as an intransitive verb?
Volkheimer leaps immediately into a squat, his head coming around as
the hounds release toward him, and Werner’s heart feels as if it has
been blown to pieces in his chest. Volkheimer’s arms come ...
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"The tea is hot" - Is the verb BE transitive or not here?
I came across a question: Whether this sentence is transitive or not..
The tea is hot.
According to me, it should be transitive.
The tea is (what?)
Please explain.
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Why do people say "explain to me", not "explain me"? [duplicate]
Is there any grammatical rule to know which verbs can (or better, must) be sometimes followed by "to"? Some examples are:
Please explain to me why...
She said to me that...
I'm aware I could also ...
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What is being "loaded in" in this sentence?
Here is a quote from "Chapter 3: Processes" of the third edition of "Understanding the Linux Kernel: From I/O Ports to Process Management" by Bovet and Cesati:
The steps performed by the [...
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Is "to be confused about A with B" correct grammatically?
I know we can use confuse A with B to mean to mistake A for B, but I would like to use the passive voice.
Is the following sentence correct grammatically (and/or idiomatic)?
I was confused about ...
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“He Loves.” A Complete Sentence, and Grammatical? [duplicate]
He loves.
I’ve read some things about intransitive verbs, recently. Can “He loves”. be thought of as a complete sentence, and grammatical?
And, can
A wind comes.
and
He has.
be thought of as ...
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Is "A Star Shoots" a complete sentence?
A star shoots.
I read something like this somewhere. Can this be thought of as a complete sentence? How does one analyze this, grammatically? It looks as though it is missing some phrase. On the ...
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What is the difference between "disapprove" and "disapprove of"?
Does adding "of" makes any difference in the sentences?
For example:
He disapproved of people marrying more than once.
Can't I write in following way?
He disapproved the people...
Another ...
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Verbs which are always followed by an object
They required the information to be sent as soon as possible.
They required to sent the information as soon as possible.
I think the first one is more acceptable than second one. It seems to me that ...
user17969
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'Something is arrived' - is this use of a participle as an adjective acceptable?
As I know, intransitive verb can't be used in passive voice. Arrive is an intransitive verb. I wonder if "be +arrived" is still understandable and available?
Something will be arriving ...
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What is the difference between "Listen my voice" to "Listen to my voice"? [duplicate]
What is the difference between
"Listen my voice"
to
"Listen to my voice"?
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Is the question "Where is it the map of?" correct?
How can I say "Where does this map belong to" that asks about where the map is showing, using the "Where". Is this sentence below right?:
Where is it the map of?
I create the question above ...
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What did Obama mean when he said "we've surged intelligence-sharing"?
Last week, US president Barack Obama said:
Third, we’re working with friends and allies to stop ISIL’s operations -- to disrupt plots, cut off their financing, and prevent them from recruiting more ...
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Is 'roam' a transitive verb?
At the time of sleeping or praying, thousand of words roam my mind.
Do you think that a preposition should be placed between roam and my mind? I think a preposition is compulsory, since roam is not a ...
user17969
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Picture Someone Engaging VS Engaged
I looked up the word "picture" in the dictionary and it is usually said "Picture someone doing something".
Shouldn't the word "engaged" be "engaging" in the following sentence?
Perhaps you’re ...
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Belong and Own as transitive or intransitive verb
I learned that Belong and Own are Intransitive verbs, hence they cannot be used in passive voice. If we use these sentences with is/was they become passive. But can we use this construction to tell ...
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Can Intransitive verbs such as "arrive" take objects?
I am learning English grammar. I am not a beginner and I am following an English grammar book to improve my grammar.
The book gives some examples of intransitive verbs (verbs that don't take any ...
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Doesn't… (negative), but…. (short positive)
I've just learned a very basic way of shortening sentences:
He likes tea (positive), but she doesn't (short negative).
I haven't got a car (negative), but my sister has (short positive).
But, what ...
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In "Approval was given, and Ju's art displayed." how can the transitive verb 'display' be used without an object?
I have read a sentence like that from a magazine:
"Approval was given, and Ju's art displayed."
Since the word display is a transitive verb, how can it be used like this without an object?
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how to distinguish" being locative or not"?
He backed the car into the garage
He backed him into a corner.
The first can dispense with the locative, but the second cannot.
StoneyB has explained the above sentences, however, I cannot get ...
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instrument A B vs. instrument A with B
Source: Understanding and Using C Pointers by Richard M. Reese (2013)
Example:
The Mudflap Libraries provide a similar capability for the GCC compiler. Its runtime library supports the detection ...
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