A transitive verb is a verb that requires an object in a sentence to convey a complete meaning. Without an object, a transitive verb cannot express a full thought.

For example, the verb 'buy' is transitive. It cannot be used in a sentence without an object:

• She bought ______.

The above sentence, without an object, is incomplete and does not make sense. This is because the verb 'buy' needs an object in the sentence to convey a complete meaning. By adding an object, the sentence becomes complete, as follows:

• She bought a book.
• She bought a chair.
• She bought a camera.

See the following examples where the red word is a transitive verb, and the blue word is an object.

• He wrote a letter.
• He won a prize.
• They completed the task.
• She likes the music.
• He ate an apple.
• She passed the exam.
• He is cutting a tree.
• She plucked a flower.
• He needs money.
• She made a painting.
• He threw the ball.
• The students raised their hands.

A verb that does not require an object in a sentence is called an intransitive verb. It can express a complete meaning without an object. Common examples include sleep, laugh, die, run, go, stand, and cough

Examples:

• He is laughing.
• She is sleeping.
• The baby was crying.
• The patient is coughing.
• They were running.
• He smiled.
• She has gone.
• He died.
• The guests have arrived.
• The kids were dancing.
• He was standing.
• It is raining.

Sometimes, words may be added after an intransitive verb to provide additional information, but these words do not function as objects. For example, the verb 'go' is intransitive, but it can appear in a sentence such as:

• He is going to school.

In this sentence, school is not an object; it functions as an adverb of place. Similarly, adverbs of time may also follow intransitive verbs to provide temporal context. Such adverbs modify the verb by giving information about place or time, but they are not objects.

Common intransitive verbs include sleep, sit, reach, die, go, and talk. The following examples illustrate intransitive verbs with adverbs of place or time:

• He is sleeping in the bed.
• She is sitting on a table.
• He reached his home.
• She died from cancer.
• We went to the library.
• They talked all the night.