Saturday, October 20, 2018

Transitive verbs versus intransitive verbs


I’ve been researching transitive verbs versus intransitive verbs, and I found some definitions and examples for each in Google Translate that confuse me. I have attached those definition images below for your reference.


Transitive verb:



able to take a direct object (expressed or implied), e.g., saw in he saw the donkey.



definition of transitive



Intransitive verb:



not taking a direct object, e.g., look in look at the sky.



definition of intransitive


I can understand why saw in the saw the donkey is used transitively because it takes the direct object donkey, but I can't understand why look in look at the sky is used intransitively. It also takes the direct object sky, right?


Likewise, please explain these examples:






  1. Our cat lived till he was 10 - Transitive




  2. He was living a life of luxury abroad - Intransitive





I found those examples in the article "Transitive and intransitive verbs" from Oxford Dictionaries.


To me, lived in the first example seems intransitive because it has no direct object, while living a life in the second example seems transitive because it has a direct object a life. However the website shows the opposite.


Question update: I also need some help with other questions I’ve asked in the answers section (just to split this big question into smaller questions for clearer understanding)





No comments:

Post a Comment

Simple past, Present perfect Past perfect

Can you tell me which form of the following sentences is the correct one please? Imagine two friends discussing the gym... I was in a good s...