Intransitive verb facts for kids

In English, an intransitive verb describes an action that a person or thing does all by itself. It doesn't need another person or thing to receive the action. For example, in "The door opened," the door opened on its own. This is different from a transitive verb, where someone or something else does the action. For instance, "The person opened the door" shows someone else doing the opening.

What is a Verb?

Before we talk about intransitive verbs, let's quickly remember what a verb is. A verb is a word that shows an action or a state of being. Think of it as the "doing" word in a sentence.

For example:

• Run: This describes the action of running.
• Jump: This describes the action of jumping.
• Sleep: This describes being asleep.
• Is: This describes a state of being.

Verbs are super important! They tell us what is happening in a sentence. Without verbs, sentences would be quite boring.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Now, let's look at how verbs can be different. Verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. The main difference is whether the verb needs an object to make sense.

• Transitive verbs: These verbs need an object. The object is the thing that gets the action of the verb. It's like the "who" or "what" the verb is acting upon.

For example:

• The boy kicked the ball. ("Kicked" is the transitive verb. "Ball" is the object that was kicked.)
• The girl read a book. ("Read" is the transitive verb. "Book" is the object.)
• The dog chased the squirrel. ("Chased" is the transitive verb. "Squirrel" is the object.)

• Intransitive Verbs: These verbs do not need an object. They describe an action or a state of being that doesn't affect anything else.

For example:

• The bird flew. (The verb "flew" doesn't need an object. The bird just flew.)
• The sun shone. ("Shone" doesn't need an object. The sun just shone.)
• He sleeps. ("Sleeps" is an intransitive verb. He sleeps, but he doesn't sleep something.)

Intransitive Verbs and Tenses

Intransitive verbs can be used in different ways. They can also be in different tenses, like past, present, or future. Let's see some examples using the verb "walk":

• Present Tense: The dog walks.
• Past Tense: The dog walked.
• Future Tense: The dog will walk.

Notice that "walk" stays intransitive in all these examples. It still doesn't need an object.

Intransitive Verbs with Prepositional Phrases

Sometimes, intransitive verbs appear with prepositional phrases. These phrases add extra information. But they do not change the verb's intransitive nature.

• The bird flew over the house. ("Flew" is still intransitive.)
• He sleeps in his bed. ("Sleeps" is still intransitive.)
• She walked to the store. ("Walked" is still intransitive.)

The prepositional phrases tell us where the action happened. But they are not the object of the verb. The verb still doesn't need an object to complete its meaning.

Common Intransitive Verbs

Here are some verbs that are often intransitive:

• Sleep: The baby sleeps soundly.
• Walk: The man walks quickly.
• Run: The cheetah runs fast.
• Swim: The fish swims in the ocean.
• Fall: The leaves fall from the trees.
• Rise: The sun rises in the east.
• Grow: The plant grows tall.
• Appear: A rainbow appeared in the sky.
• Disappear: The magician made the rabbit disappear.
• Exist: Dinosaurs existed millions of years ago.

Intransitive Verbs and Linking Verbs

A special type of intransitive verb is a linking verb. Linking verbs don't show action. Instead, they connect the subject to a word that describes or identifies it. The most common linking verb is "to be" (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been).

Other linking verbs include: seem, become, appear, feel, smell, taste, sound, look.

• The cake is delicious. ("Is" links "cake" to the description "delicious".)
• He became a doctor. ("Became" links "he" to the description "a doctor".)
• The flowers smell sweet. ("Smell" links "flowers" to the description "sweet".)

Remember, these linking verbs are a special kind of intransitive verb. This is because they do not take an object.

See also

In Spanish: Verbo intransitivo para niños