Intransitive verb

An intransitive verb is complete without a direct object: the action does not pass on to anything, so the sentence needs only a subject, as in 'the engine stalled'.

The engine stalled. Nothing follows the verb, and nothing needs to. Ask stalled what? and the question makes no sense, which is the test for an intransitive verb.

Intransitive verb examples

• The train arrived late.
• Nothing happened.
• She laughed at the joke.
• The old dog slept by the fire.
• We waited for an hour.
• The plane took off.

In several of these, something does follow the verb: late, at the joke, for an hour, by the fire. None of them is a direct object. They are adverbs or prepositional phrases saying how, where or when. The verb is still intransitive, because nothing receives the action. Phrasal verbs such as take off, give up and break down can be intransitive too: the car broke down.

Many verbs switch depending on the sentence. She flew to Lisbon is intransitive; she flew the plane is transitive. The door opened is intransitive; he opened the door is transitive. Verbs that are strictly one or the other are where the errors cluster.

Lie or lay, rise or raise, sit or set

The famous pair is lie and lay. Lie is intransitive: you lie down, and nothing else is involved. Lay is transitive and needs an object: you lay something down.

The confusion is made worse because the past tense of lie is lay.

• lie, lay, lain: Yesterday she lay down. She has lain there all afternoon.
• lay, laid, laid: Yesterday she laid the book down. She has laid the table.

So yesterday she laid down is wrong, unless the sentence goes on to say what she laid. The same distinction separates rise (intransitive: the sun rose) from raise (transitive: she raised her hand), and sit from set.

Intransitive verbs in your prose

Intransitive verbs make short, self-contained sentences (The lights failed. Nobody moved.), and a run of them reads as clipped, even shocked. That is useful at the end of a scene and monotonous over a page. Because nothing receives the action, they also keep the focus on the subject, which is why they suit moments where a character is acted on by events rather than acting: He waited. The phone did not ring.

Frequently asked questions

What is an intransitive verb?

An intransitive verb is a verb that does not take a direct object. The action stays with the subject, so 'the engine stalled' and 'she laughed' are complete sentences.

What are some examples of intransitive verbs?

Arrive, happen, occur, exist, fall, sneeze, laugh, sleep, wait, go and come are usually intransitive. Examples: 'The train arrived late', 'Nothing happened', 'She laughed at the joke'.

Is 'she arrived at the station' transitive?

No. 'At the station' is a prepositional phrase, not a direct object. The verb arrived is still intransitive, because nothing receives the action.