Transitive And Intransitive Verbs | ESL Worksheets

State whether the following verbs are transitive or intransitive. You can learn more about transitive and intransitive verbs here.

1. I met them yesterday.
2. I took the children to the park.
3. The wind was blowing fiercely.
4. She sat under a tree.
5. She enjoys gardening.
6. We waited for an hour.
7. They laughed aloud.
8. She looked around.
9. I baked a cake yesterday.
10. She sells flowers in the market.
11. The teacher scolded the boy.
12. She has bought a car.
13. I could not solve the puzzle.
14. They praised the child.
15. She spoke intelligently.

Answers

1. I met them yesterday. (met – transitive; object – them)
2. I took the children to the park. (took – transitive; object – the children)
3. The wind was blowing fiercely. (was blowing – intransitive)
4. She sat under a tree. (sat – intransitive)
5. She enjoys gardening. (enjoys – transitive; object – gardening)
6. We waited for an hour. (waited – intransitive)
7. They laughed aloud. (laughed – intransitive)
8. She looked around. (looked – intransitive)
9. I baked a cake yesterday. (baked – transitive; object – a cake)
10. She sells flowers in the market. (sells – transitive; object – flowers)
11. The teacher scolded the boy. (scolded – transitive; object – the boy)
12. She has bought a car. (bought – transitive; object – a car)
13. I could not solve the puzzle. (solve – transitive; object – the puzzle)
14. They praised the child. (praised – transitive; object – the child)
15. She spoke intelligently. (Spoke – intransitive)

Now consider the sentence ‘The old man sat in a corner.’

The old man sat … whom? What?

The questions are absurd and meaningless. The verb sat has no object.

A verb which has no object is called an intransitive verb.

Many verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively, i.e., with an object or without an object.

• He boiled (verb) some water (object). (transitive)
• The water boiled (verb). (no object – intransitive)
• You must always speak (verb) the truth (object). (transitive)
• He spoke (verb) fluently. (no object – intransitive)