Intransitive Verbs || Transitive Verbs || Ditransitive Verbs: By English For You

Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verb is the verb that needs no complement to complete it. It is complete itself, (ROBERTS, 2011:71). Furthermore, it just takes subject. Some intransitive verbs: sleep, walk, laugh, etc.

For example:

She cries.   (Intransitive verb just takes subject(S). therefore, “She" is the subject of intransitive verb "cry").

I sleep.

They walk.

Transitive Verbs

Transitive verb is the verb that needs a single Noun Phrase to complement it and such Noun Phrase (NP) functions as direct object, (Ibidem, p.70). Noun Phrase: John, he, my father, the beautiful woman, an interesting book, etc.

So transitive verbs take subject(S) and direct object (dO). Some transitive verbs: eat, do, kill, read, see, etc.

For example:

If I say, "I ate", you will ask "what?", because you feel that the verb needs something to complete it. However, if I say, "I ate bananas", you will not ask "what?”, because the verb does not need anything to complement it. Therefore, bananas complement it.

I ate bananas. (In this sentence, "I" is subject(S) and bananas is direct object (dO).

She killed a dog. (In this sentence, she is subject(S) and a dog is direct object (dO).

 

Ditransitive Verbs

Ditransitive verb is the verb that needs two Noun Phrases (NPs) to complement it. One of them functions as direct object (dO) and another one as indirect object (iO), (Ibidem, p.72). It takes subject and two objects. Namely: direct object and indirect object.

Example:

I bought you a book.  

"I" is subject(S).

"You" is indirect object (iO).

"a book" is direct object(dO).

My father gave me a car.  

"My father" is subject(S).

"me" is indirect object (iO).                     

"a car" is direct object(dO).

The same author goes on saying that ditransitive verbs take a Noun Phrase (NP) and Prepositional Phrase (PP) to complement it as well. Moreover, PP functions as indirect object and NP as direct object.

Example:

My mother gave money to me.

"My mother" is subject (S).

"Money" is direct object (dO).

"To me" is indirect object (iO).                     

NB: "to me" is prepositional phrase (PP) and in sentence above functions as indirect object (iO).

More examples:

I sent a message to my friend.

Peter made an instrumental to John.

 

Bibliography

ROBERTS, Noel Burton (2011), Analying Sentences: An Introduction to English Syntax, New York : Routledge, 3th ed..