Transitive, Intransitive, and Linking Verbs

A verb is a word that expresses action.

A verb can be transitive or intransitive.

Transitive Verb

A transitive verb is an action word that passes the action from the doer to the receiver which is the object of the verb.

Examples:

  • The little girl offered help.

  • Nobody believed the little girl.

In the above sentences, offered and believed are transitive verbs.

Transitive Verb

Examples:

  • The little girl offered help.
  • Nobody believed the little girl.

In the first sentence, the girl does the action of offering help - "What did the girl offer?" The answer is help.

In the second sentence, the answer to the question, "Whom did nobody believe?" is the little girl.

The answers to the what and whom questions are the receivers of the actions.

The receiver or object of a transitive verb is a noun or a pronoun.

Intransitive Verb

An intransitive verb has no object and merely states an action. There is no receiver of the action.

Examples:

  • The spectators stood and observed.

  • The little girl moved.

In the above sentences, there is no receiver and the action is merely stated.