General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 04 Topic 01.doc  DISCUSSION 04 Animal powers We have been looking at how people in English-speaking cultures believe that many animals have certain qualities. We have also talked about how some people believe animals can communicate with us in different ways. Different cultures have very different views on this topic. Now it's your turn to talk about how people in your culture feel about animals. • Do certain animals have special qualities in your culture? • What are they? • Do people in your country keep pets? • Have you ever had a psychic pet? • Have you heard of any stories of psychic animals? • Do you believe animals can talk to us?  LANGUAGE FOCUS 05 Transitive and intransitive verbs Transitive verbs Laura Sandler says: Many pet owners believe that their pets are psychic. My message to you all is - open your minds and hearts and you'll hear what your pets have to say. I have dedicated my life to this work because I feel so strongly that animals need a voice. Believe and dedicated are examples of transitive verbs. Transitive verbs need an object in order to make sense. They are followed by a direct object. subject verb object They needed a new car. She caught the train to work. Transitive verbs can usually take the passive form. Active Passive The thieves stole $10,000. $10,000 was stolen. The company hired 100 new staff last year. Last year 100 new staff were hired. 101