Intransitive Verbs

1. What is an intransitive verb?

Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not have a direct object. Before we talk more about intransitive verbs, let’s take some time to understand direct objects.

A direct object receives the action of a verb in a sentence. This means that the verb is done to the direct object.

Example:

Jessica fed the cat.

In this sentence, the verb is “fed.” Who receives this verb, or who is the one being fed? The cat!
This means that the cat is the direct object in this sentence.

An easy way to identify the direct object in a sentence is by finding the sentence’s verb and then asking the question, “What?”

If you can easily answer the question, the verb has a direct object. Verbs with direct objects are called transitive verbs.
If the question doesn’t make sense for this sentence, or if you can’t answer it, then the sentence does not have a direct object and you are dealing with an intransitive verb.

Example:

Marcos ate a cheeseburger.

The verb in this sentence is “ate.”
Can we easily answer the question, “Ate what?”
Ate a cheeseburger.
This sentence does have a direct object, so “ate” is a transitive verb.

Olivia laughed.

The verb in this sentence is “laughed.”
Can we easily answer the question, “Laughed what?”
No, and the question does not make sense for this sentence.
This sentence does not have a direct object, so “laughed” is an intransitive verb.

2. Examples of Intransitive Verbs

Here are a few examples of common intransitive verbs.

Example 1:

Malik slept all day.

The verb in this example is “slept.”
Can we answer the question, “Slept what?”
No, and the question does not make sense for this sentence.
The sentence does not have a direct object, so “slept” is an intransitive verb.

Example 2:

Samantha arrived ten minutes late.

In this sentence, the verb is “arrived.”
Can we answer the question, “Arrived what?”
The verb “arrived” is not being done to anyone or anything.
There is no direct object in this sentence, so “arrived” is an intransitive verb.

Example 3:

Veronica sang beautifully.

In this sentence, the verb is “sang.”
Can we answer the question, “Sang what?”
If the sentence said that Veronica sang a song, we could answer the question, but in this example “sang” is not being done to anyone or anything.
Since there is no direct object, “sang” is an intransitive verb in this case.

Example 4:

When the magician reached into his hat, a rabbit appeared.

The verb here is “appeared.”
Can we answer the question, “Appeared what?”
No, and the question does not make sense for this sentence.
This sentence does not have a direct object, so we know “appeared” is an intransitive verb.

Remember that intransitive verbs are verbs that do not have a direct object, whether they are action verbs or linking verbs.

3. Types of Intransitive Verbs

a. Action Verbs

The examples above are intransitive verbs and they are also action verbs because they express something that a person, animal, or thing can do and they can be physical or mental.

Example:

Kevin fell and scraped his knee.

The verb is “fell.”
It is something that a person or thing can do.
Can we answer the question, “Fell what?”
That question doesn’t make sense in this case.
There is no direct object, so we know that “fell” is an intransitive verb and an action verb.

b. Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are also intransitive. Linking verbs do not express an action, but instead link a sentence’s subject to more information about the subject. For this reason, linking verbs do not have direct objects.

Linking verbs include become, seem and any form of the verb be (like am, is, are, were, etc.).

Example:

Jeremy is tired.

The verb in this sentence is “is,” a form of the verb “be.”
In this sentence, the verb is linking the subject (Jeremy) to more information about the subject (he’s tired).
“Is” is not an action that can be performed on anyone or anything, so we know that this sentence has no direct object.
For this reason, “is” is a linking verb and an intransitive verb.

Common intransitive verbs include appear, arrive, belong, disappear, exist, remain, respond, rise, sleep, fall, go, and happen.

Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive, depending on how they are used in a sentence.

Example:

Joey walked for thirty minutes.

The verb in this sentence is “walked.”
Can we answer the question, “Walked what?” No. In this sentence, the verb is not being done to anyone or anything.
There is no direct object in this sentence, so “walked” is an intransitive verb.

Joey walked the dog.

The verb is “walked” in this sentence too.
In this case, can we answer the question, “Walked what?” Yes! Walked the dog.
This sentence does have a direct object (the dog), so “walked” is a transitive verb in this example.

Just remember that intransitive verbs do not perform an action on anyone or anything in the sentence.