General English Level 6
Version 2.1
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GELEV6 Unit 04 Topic 01.doc
Examples 1
Listen to the examples.
He feeds the cat three times a day.
They brought a bottle of wine to dinner.
He's opened a new restaurant in the city.
The music of Beethoven has influenced him greatly.
Intransitive Verbs
Laura Sandler says:
… Several months after he'd left to fight, his wife wrote to him to tell him his
much-loved dog, Ranger, had gone missing. When he received the letter he
laughed - Ranger was already with him in France.
Go and laugh are examples of intransitive verbs. An intransitive verb does not need an
object.
subject verb object
They surrendered.
She paused.
Intransitive verbs cannot take the passive form.
Examples 2
Listen to the examples.
1. She advanced to the next level.
2. Sheila fell down the stairs.
3. He swam the whole length of the pool.
4. She smiled when she heard the good news.
Information
Some verbs are both transitive and intransitive. They can be used with or without an
object.
He felt good about the situation. (intransitive)
He felt something hairy, and screamed. (transitive)
A quality dictionary will tell you whether a verb is transitive, intransitive or both.
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