The terms “transitive” and “intransitive” refer to whether or not verbs are followed by a stated direct object in a sentence. A verb functioning as a transitive verb will always have a direct object following it, as in these examples.
| SUBJECT | VERB | DIRECT OBJECT |
| They | sell | books |
| He | loves | her |
| We | spent | a lot of money |
| They | watched | a movie |
| I | was having | a wonderful dream |
Most verbs in English function transitively, but some, such as “ache” and “comply,” only function intransitively—we cannot say “It aches me” or “They complied it,” for example. In addition, many verbs can function both transitively and intransitively. For example, with the verb “hurt,” we can say both “I hurt my foot” (transitive) and “My foot hurts” (intransitive). Often there is some difference in meaning or focus when the same verb has both transitive and intransitive meanings. Compare “We waited for you for an hour” (intransitive) and “We waited dinner for you for an hour” (transitive).
Click here for further discussion of transitive versus intransitive verbs.