Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: L.4.1.C

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

Verbs are words of action, but they can be broken into two different subsets. They are said to be transitive if it is an action and followed immediately by a direct object. You may see instances of transitive verbs that have an indirect object before the direct object. If the verb does not take a direct object, it is called an intransitive verb. You will often find that intransitive forms are proceeded by an adverb or prepositional phrase. The names of these verbs causally relate to their function in a sentence. You will find them in most dictionaries labelled in one of these two forms. In order to best understand how these parts of speech operate in a statement focus on the meaning behind it. These worksheets help students learn to classify the form of a verb in a sentence.

Transitive and Intransitive Worksheets To Print:

Line Writes - You will be given a series of sentences to analyze. What form of the verb do you see? Identify your conclusions on the line.

Direct Objects - Time to work on find the direct object to the verbs. You will clock these from the sentences that you are presented with.

Subject, Verb, What? - This will give a nice flow to your work and start helping you understand the process that is involved.

No Direct Objects - Throw the direct objects out of the sentences that you are given. Rewrite the sentence without a direct object, adding words or phrases as necessary so that this part of speech becomes intransitive.

Make It Transitive - Complete each sentence below with a direct object to make the verb transitive. They are lined up for you to work off of.

Circle the Wagons - Read each sentence below. Circle whether the underlined verb is transitive or intransitive.

Light Bulb Goes On... - You are asked to describe the bold word. See what you think! If you need some reminders, they can be found at the top of the worksheet.

Write a Sentence - Write a sentence for each verb. It should be used either as transitive or intransitive form as indicated in parentheses.

What Follows? - Circle the intransitive verb in each sentence. Underline the prepositional phrase or adverb that follows it.

Monkey Business - Read each sentence below. Determine how this particular part of speech presents itself.

Follow It Up - Circle the transitive form in each sentence. Underline the direct object that follows it.

Using the Verbs Wisely - Write two sentences for each verb given. In the first sentence you should use the transitive form. In the second sentence it should be used in a intransitive form.

Identifier - For each sentence, identify whether the underlined verb is transitive or intransitive. This is a thinker for you.

Create It From Scratch - Write a sentence for each verb. This will require you to be a bit creative and stick to your general form.

First and Seconds Too - Write two sentence for each verb given. In the first sentence use the transitive form. In the second sentence it should be presented as intransitive.

What are Transitive and Intransitive Verbs?


A verb sometimes requires an object to completely express the thought. Depending on whether a verb requires an object or does not require an object to complete the thought, these parts of speech are classified into two categories, transitive and intransitive. Given below is an in-depth explanation of both of these verbs along with valid examples to clarify their concept:


Transitive Verbs

Verbs that do require one or more than one object to clarify the thought are called transitive. Depending on the number of objects a verb requires; transitives are divided into three categories, first one is mono-transitive that accepts a single object, second is di-transitive that accepts two objects, and the third one is tri-transitive that requires three objects to complete the thought. Some commonly used transitive verbs are "owe, lend, leave, give, get". As when "I owe him" is written, it will not complete the thought, we have to write the object with it to clarify the thought, so the sentence will be rewritten as "I owe him ten dollars". Some other sentences using transitives are "I lent him my car, can I get your phone? she sent me a fax, may I leave my book with you? James loves to play the piano etc."


Intransitive Verbs

Contrary to transitive verbs, verbs that do not need any object for the clarification of thought are known as Intransitive verbs. These verbs refer to any activity such as crying, smiling, raining, laughing, sitting, etc. Some sentences that use intransitive verbs are "it is raining, I was giggling, the dog was playing, he was riding, birds were flying, he was dancing, cats were yawning, children were weeping, kids were playing, etc." all these sentences are not using any object but are clearly defining the thought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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