Look at these two sentences.
He tumbled backward.
It turned its head.
The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object. The second sentence has a transitive verb. It has a direct object. We can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer: “Its head. It turned its head.” Say whether the verb in each sentence below transitive or intransitive. Ask yourself a ‘what’ question about the verb, as in the example above.
(For some verbs, the object is a person, so ask the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).
(i) The fawn followed him.
(ii) He walked all day.
(iii) He stroked its sides.
(iv) The fawn lifted its nose.
(v) Its legs hung limply.
(i) What did the fawn follow? (him)
(ii) Who walked all day? (He-Jodi)
(iii) What did he stroke? (its sides – fawn’s sides)
(iv) What did the fawn left? (its nose)
(v) What hung limply? (its legs)
Verb in each sentence
(i) Transitive
(ii) Intransitive
(iii) Transitive
(iv) Transitive
(v) Intransitive