Basic Details
Word: Transitive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: In grammar, a transitive verb is one that takes a direct object, a person or thing that receives the action, as in She ate an apple.
Antonyms: intransitive
Word origin: From Latin transitivus, passing over, from transire, to go across.
How to Spell Transitive
Syllables: tran - si - tive
Tricky part: The vowel after s is i, not a (transative), and the word ends in ive with a final e.
Watch out for: transative, transitiv, transetive
Memory tip: A transitive verb carries the action across to an object, and trans means across. Keep the i that follows s in transit: trans-i-tive.
Usage Examples
Example 1: In the sentence Asha kicked the ball, kicked is a transitive verb.
Example 2: Our teacher asked us to find five transitive verbs in the poem.
Example 3: Some verbs are transitive in one sentence and not in the next.
Fun Fact
Many verbs can be used both ways. In She sings a song, sings is transitive, but in She sings beautifully there is no object, so it is intransitive.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the only correctly spelt word:
1. conjuction 2. transitive 3. adverbe 4. pronoune
a) a word that tells more about a verb
b) a word used in place of a noun
c) a word that joins words or clauses
d) describing a verb that takes a direct object
Show answer
d) describing a verb that takes a direct object. Adverb and pronoun do not end in e, and conjunction needs an n before the c.
Word Makeup
Only one of these words takes the prefix in to make its opposite. Choose it:
a) legal
b) possible
c) transitive
d) regular
Show answer
c) transitive. The others take il, im and ir: illegal, impossible and irregular.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our English teacher explained that a transative verb always needs an object, and then she asked us to underline three of them in the passage.
a) underline
b) transative
c) passage
d) explained
Show answer
b) transative. The vowel after trans is i, as in transit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In which sentence is the verb used transitively?
a) She wrote a letter.
b) The sun rose.
c) They laughed.
d) The baby slept.
Show answer
a) She wrote a letter.
2. A transitive verb must have ____.
a) a past form
b) a helping verb
c) a plural subject
d) a direct object
Show answer
d) a direct object
