Intransitive Verb Guide: How to Use Intransitive Verbs

Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not require a direct object. Intransitive verbs follow the subject and complete an independent clause, and they may be followed by prepositions, adverbs, or another clause to further contextualize the action of the verb.

Common intransitive verbs include words like “run,” “rain,” “die,” “sneeze,” “sit,” and “smile,” which do not require a direct or indirect object. For example, in the simple sentence, "He walks," the intransitive verb “walks” is not being done to someone or something.

In the English language, transitive verbs need a direct object, and intransitive verbs do not. Transitive verbs cannot exist on their own—transitive verbs need a direct object, and the nouns or pronouns that follow tend to answer what or whom the verb ties to. Prepositions often follow intransitive verbs to contextualize the verb further.

In English grammar, intransitive verbs can help you create a simple sentence. Follow these steps to use intransitive verbs:

1. 1. Start with a subject. Your subject is any noun or pronoun that illuminates the “who” of your sentence. A subject can be a noun, like “the dog,” a collective noun, such as “the school of fish,” a proper noun, like “The Empire State Building,” or a pronoun, like “we.”
2. 2. Add an intransitive verb. The intransitive verb will be the action tied to your subject. Transitive verbs should follow the subject for sake of clarity. With just a subject and a transitive verb you will have completed an independent clause and, as such, a complete sentence. Transitive verbs can take on any tense, as in the sentence "We jumped."
3. 3. Color in detail with other parts of speech. Your sentence is complete with just a subject and an intransitive verb (“We jumped.”), but you can add further texture by adding in an adverb ("We jumped quickly."), or a prepositional phrase ("We jumped off the platform.").
4. 4. Make sure your subject and verb agree. For example, it might seem like the subject "A group of children" is plural, but it is actually singular. "Group" is the singular subject, and "of children" is a prepositional phrase modifying the group. As such, your sentence should read "A group of children is studying English." instead of "A group of children are studying English."
5. 5. Use the active voice. Sentences that have an intransitive verb cannot be in the passive voice since there is no direct object. For example, in the sentence “The baby smiled,” the noun phrase “the baby” and the verb “smiled” cannot be made passive.

In these example sentences, intransitive verbs will follow a subject and complete an independent clause.

1. 1. “You snored last night.” Here the subject is "you," and the intransitive verb is "snore," used here in the past tense as the adverb that follows is "last night."
2. 2. “The streetlights glow along the riverbank, looking like orange orbs suspended in the fog.” In this second sentence, "glow" is the intransitive verb, and "along the riverbank" operates as a prepositional phrase with the phrase after the comma acting as a dependent clause, giving further context.
3. 3. “I jog around the neighborhood every day.” “Jog” does not need a direct object, making it an intransitive verb. What follows are a prepositional phrase ("around the neighborhood") and an adverb ("every day").

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