Transitive and intransitive verbs

We have considered different sentence constructions using the five sentence elements S,V,O,C,A but, if you try to create some of these constructions using any verb, you will find that sometimes it can't be done.

For example, if you try to use the verb 'take' in a SV sentence, it will not make sense: He takes.  This sentence requires an object, informing the reader what has been taken.

Similarly, if you try to use the verb 'arrive' in a SVO sentence, it will not work:  The train arrives ...  If we want to add more information, we have to use an adverbial after this verb, e.g. at the station, on time, but cannot add another noun or noun phrase as an object.

Why is this?

When only one person or thing is involved in a sentence, this person/thing fills the subject position and is followed by an intransitive verb. 

When a second person or thing is affected by the action of the subject, this person/thing fills the object position in the sentence and a transitive verb is required.

There are some verbs which are normally used intransitively and some normally used transitively; however many verbs can be used in both ways.  For example, the verb 'pass can be used intransitively in the sentence 'Ships pass in the night.' and transitively in 'She passed the salt.'

The following table provides some examples of each.

Examples of verbs used intransitively and transitively
Intransitive verbs	Transitive verbs	Verbs which can be used intransitively and transitively
ache	avoid	blow
arrive	blame	call
bleed	carry	change
blush	cut	drive
die	damage	fly
disappear	design	follow
faint	discover	hurt
fidget	enjoy	lose
fall	fill	manage
happen	get	miss
kneel	give	move
quiver	make	pass
sleep	need	play
sneeze	put	run
throb	remove	stand
wait	take	study
weep	want	win

 

Sentence elements in English word order

We often think of English as having a Subject (S), Verb (V), Object (O) word order and this is frequently the order that children start off with in early writing.

The boy kicked the ball.      The dog chased the cat.       Daddy drove the car.

However, there are five sentence/clause elements in our language: 

S – subject

V – verb

O – object (which can be direct or indirect)

A – adverbial

C – complement (see link for more on complements)

Most usual sentence constructions are:

SV             The sword vanished.

SVO           The sword cut the tree.

SVC           The sword was heavy. 

SVOC        The sword cut the tree open.

SVOO        The sword gave the knight a nasty gash.  ('the knight' is the indirect object, 'a nasty gash' is the direct object)

As a very flexible sentence element, adverbials can be added in various positions in these constructions. Try adding one of these adverbials to the sentences in different positions to explore how these can be used.  'in a flash'       'unfortunately'     'with one strike'

In particular, using adverbials in different positions can create different effects for the reader by emphasizing certain information in the sentence.  When using adverbials in different positions, punctuation should also be considered.  Commas will be needed to make sure meaning is clear.

With one strike, the sword cut the tree open.     (A,S,V,O,C)

The sword, with one strike, cut the tree open.    (S,A,V,O,C)

The sword cut the tree open with one strike.      (S,V.O,C,A)

Adjective phrases and complementation

I’ve been asked a few times recently about adjective phrases and feel it’s about time I tried to unpick the subject knowledge surrounding these.

We are very familiar with using adjectives or strings of adjectives in front of a noun to create a noun phrase and, in this type of phrase, the noun is the head word.  For example, ‘the lazy, luminous, long-tailed lizard’ contains the adjectives ‘lazy’, ‘luminous’ and ‘long-tailed’ and these are pre-modifying the head word in the phrase which is the noun ‘lizard’. 

Adjective phrases are phrases where the adjective is the head of the phrase, as in the following examples:

The princess was very beautiful.

The policeman’s hunch proved entirely correct.

The decorators painted the room bright pink.

The strong wind made the children quite crazy.

These phrases fill the complement ‘slots’ in a sentence and provide information about the subject or object in the sentence.  Of course, this complement slot can also be filled by a single adjective: The princess was beautiful. 

Complements are one of the five sentence/clause elements in our language and are probably the least familiar to primary teachers.  The sentence elements are as follows:

S – subject

V – verb

O – object (which can be direct or indirect)

A – adverbial

C – complement

Complements do not have to be filled by adjectives/adjective phrases; they can also be nouns/noun phrases.  In the sentence ‘He became a doctor.’ the noun phrase highlighted is a subject complement as it is completing the information about the subject ‘he’.  This gives the structure S V C.

However complements do need to be used with a particular group of verbs, which are often referred to as ‘link’ verbs or copulas.  The verbs which can most commonly be used as link verbs are be, seem appear (look), feel, get, keep, become, turn.  Often the verbs which describe our senses (look, smell, sound, taste, feel) can be used as link verbs. 

If children know verbs as ‘doing words’, these link verbs are often the ones they have difficulty with, as it is harder to understand that they ‘do’ anything.  They more commonly express a state of being.  So really, it’s best to be clear with children and use the correct terminology ‘verb’ – it’s shorter than ‘doing word’ in any event!