Transitive vs. Intransitive Verbs
B1 · IntermediateVerbsSome verbs need an object to complete their meaning. Others stand alone. Knowing which is which prevents some very common mistakes.
What you'll learn
- Transitive verbs take a direct object: She bought a car.
- Intransitive verbs don't take a direct object: They arrived late.
- Some verbs are always one or the other; some can be both, with no change in form
- An intransitive verb needs a preposition to connect to a place or person, not a direct object
What transitive and intransitive mean
A transitive verb passes its action onto a direct object — something or someone that receives the action. An intransitive verb describes a complete action on its own, with no object needed.
Verbs that are always transitive or always intransitive
Some verbs almost always need an object — buy, explain, discuss, enjoy. Others almost never take one — sleep, arrive, happen, disappear. Trying to add an object to an intransitive verb, or leaving one out after a transitive verb, produces an incomplete or incorrect sentence.
Verbs that work both ways
A number of common verbs — open, close, break, start, grow, move — can be transitive or intransitive with exactly the same form. The difference is simply whether an object follows.
Prepositions instead of objects
When an intransitive verb needs to connect to a place, thing, or person, it uses a preposition — not a direct object. Arrive needs at/in, apologize needs to, listen needs to.
Real English
Watch out
Arrive is intransitive — it can't take a direct object, so it needs a preposition before a place.
Discuss is transitive in English — it takes the object directly, with no preposition, even though other languages often add one.
Explain's direct object is the thing explained; the person needs the preposition to.
Real life — Talking about a delayed flight
"What happened? The flight was supposed to land an hour ago."
"It arrived late because of the storm."
"Did they explain the delay to anyone?"
"Yes, they announced it right after we landed."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Choose the correct answer
'She bought a car.' Is 'bought' transitive or intransitive here?
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct answer
'They arrived late.' Is 'arrived' transitive or intransitive here?
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct sentence
Choose the correct sentence.
Exercise 4 · Choose the correct sentence
Choose the correct sentence.
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct answer
'The window broke.' Is this transitive or intransitive?
Exercise 6 · Choose the correct answer
'He broke the window.' Is this transitive or intransitive?
Exercise 7 · Choose the correct answer
Which verb is always intransitive (never takes a direct object)?
Exercise 8 · Choose the correct sentence
Choose the correct sentence.
Exercise 9 · Complete the sentence
Complete: 'I ___ (discuss) the plan with her yesterday.' (transitive — no preposition needed)
Exercise 10 · Complete the sentence
Complete: 'The plane ___ (land) safely.' (intransitive)
Exercise 11 · Sort into groups
0 / 6 sorted
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
Choose the correct sentence.
You learned
- Transitive verbs take a direct object; intransitive verbs don't.
- Some verbs are always transitive or always intransitive.
- Some verbs (open, break, grow) work both ways with the same form.
- An intransitive verb connects to a place or person with a preposition, not an object.
Related grammar lessons
Linking Verbs
Learn how linking verbs like be, seem, become, feel, look, taste, sound, and smell connect the subject to a description rather than showing an action — and why they're followed by adjectives, not adverbs.
Stative vs. Dynamic Verbs
Learn which English verbs describe states (know, like, want, believe) rather than actions, why they normally avoid continuous forms, and how some verbs like think, have, and taste switch meaning between stative and dynamic use.
Auxiliary Verbs
Go deeper into be, do, and have as auxiliary (helping) verbs — how they build questions, negatives, continuous and perfect tenses, the passive voice, and emphasis — and how to tell an auxiliary use apart from a main-verb use.
Verb Types
Get an overview of the main categories of English verbs — main verbs, auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, and phrasal verbs — and how they work together in a sentence.