Transitive Versus Intransitive Verbs

So What is a Transitive Verb?

In any sentence where the verb has or carries a direct object , that verb is said to be a transitive verb.

How do I know if the verb has a direct object ?

Let’s learn to identify the direct object by analysing the following sentences :

1/  Janice baked a  cake.

2/ Trinidad and Tobago exports oil.

3/ The speeding bus hit a pedestrian .

4/ A dog bit the mailman.

5/ I did it every day.

6/ Privileges bring responsibility.

7/ The Johnsons are building a house.

8/ Ms. Brown taught the children .

9/ The hungry boys quickly ate their breakfast.

10/The bandits robbed the old man and his wife.

Each of these sentences has three important parts :

There is a person or thing performing an action --- This person or thing is the subject .

There is the action --- the verb.

And the action has a target --- the object.

                                                                 Let’s put it this way :

The subject tells us who or what performs the action.

The verb tells us what the action is.

The object tells us whom or what the verb acts upon or what is the target of the verb.

                                             IMPORTANT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

The object is not just anything that comes after the verb . Transitive verbs DO NOT  tell us where, how, when or why. The verb is transitive only if it tells us WHAT or WHOM the verb acts upon.

Now let’s apply what we know to analyse sentences 1 -5.

Subject	Verb	Object
1/ Janice	baked	a  cake
2/ Trinidad and Tobago	exports	oil.
3/ The speeding bus	hit	a pedestrian .
4/ A dog	bit	the mailman.
5/ I	did	it

Remember ---  a verb is transitive if it carries an object . You can tell if the verb carries an object by asking whom or what  after the verb.

This is how we found the objects of sentences 1-5 :

Janice baked what ?  a chocolate cake

Trinidad and Tobago exports what ?  oil

The speeding bus hit whom ?  a pedestrian

A dog bit whom ?  the mailman

I did what?  It

Here’s something for you to do . Practice analysing sentences 6- 10 into subject ,verb, and object.

Subject	Verb	Object
6/
7/
8/
9/
10/

Now compose two sentences of your own using your verbs transitively , that is , with an object . Remember ---- Each sentence must have a subject, verb and a direct object.

1/  

2/ 

What is an Intransitive Verb?

A verb is intransitive  if  it DOES NOT carry a direct object , that it, it does not say whom or what receives the action of the verb.

Examples

1/ The baby slept in the crib.

2/ Peter laughed when she fell.

3/The children sang with much energy.

4/ School starts at half past eight.

5/ I ran yesterday.

6/ Dr. Singerz is operating on her patient.

7/ The Prime Minister is here.

8/ That will do.

None of these sentences tells us whom or what received the action of the verb. Therefore these verbs are all used intransitively.

Let’s analyse Sentences 1-3.

1/ The baby slept whom ?      no answer

    The baby slept what ?         no answer

    ( in the crib is only telling us where the baby slept )

Therefore slept, in this sentence ,is an intransitive verb .

2/ Peter laughed whom ?          no answer

    Peter laughed what?              No answer

   ( when she fell is only telling us when Peter laughed)

Therefore laughed, in this sentence, is an intransitive verb.

3/The children sang whom?      No answer

    The children sang what?      No answer

   ( with much energy is only telling us how the children sang)

Therefore sang, in this sentence, is an intransitive verb.

REMEMBER

    Transitive verbs do not tell us where, when, how or why.

They tell us whom or what received the action of the verb.

Here’s something for you to do

: Analyse sentences 4-8 to say why the verbs in those sentences are intransitive verbs.  

A Simple Way for Teaching the use of Who and Whom

                                

     There is a simple trick to knowing the difference between who and whom. All you have to do is answer your question or restate the sentence using "he" or "him"/ “they or them” .  This trick also works with whoever and whomever.

he = who/whoever                                           him = whom/whomever

they = who                                                       them = whom

Using Who

Who is always used as the subject of the verb.

Examples of "who"

·         (Who, Whom) went to the circus?

He went to the circus. Therefore, who is correct.

·         We all know (whom, who) won the game for the team.

He won the game for the team, Therefore, who is correct.

·         Corie knows (who, whom) made the cake.

He made the cake. Therefore, who is correct.

·         (Whoever, Whomever) said that you couldn't dance?

He said that I couldn't dance. Therefore, Whoever is correct.

 .    The boys (who, whom) painted the room also cleaned the yard.

 They painted the room and cleaned the yard. Therefore, who is correct.

Using Whom

Whom is never used as the subject of a verb. It is the object form of a pronoun.

Examples of "whom"

·         For (who,whom) did you vote?

I voted for him. Therefore, whom is correct.

·         With ( who,whom) do you sail?

I sail with him. Therefore, whom is correct.

·         (Who,Whom) should I ask about the discount?

I should ask him about the discount. Therefore , whom is correct.

·         You may go with (whomever, whoever)  you choose.

I choose to go with him. Therefore, whomever is correct.

  .    I do not know the people to (who, whom) I must report the incident.

I must report the incident to them. Therefore, whom is correct.

Now try to correctly complete each of the following sentences by using either who or whom in the blank spaces :

1/  ----------- do you think will win the Miss Universe title this year?

2/ We need a leader  ------------ we can trust.

3/ The hikers  ------------ we saw earlier looked tired.

4/  The person  ------------- finds my dog will receive a prize.

5/  ------------- ate all of my pizza ?

6/  ------------- are we meeting ?

7/  For -------------- did you buy those flowers ?

A Two-Voices Poem

Voice #1 : I am Tara.


Voice #2 : I am Dog.


Voice #1 : I live a happy life.


Voice #2 : My life isn’t fit for a dog!


Voice #1 : I like sweet , juicy Rose mango!


Voice #2 : I like roti, Curried mango, pumpkin, channa and

                  aloo.


Voice #1 : My grandmother needs me.


Voice #2 : I need Tara’s food.


Voice #1 : I think I am a good child because I do good deeds.


Voice #2 : Being crafty isn’t bad; it keeps me alive!


Voice#1 : If I had obeyed my mother I would not be in this

                 trouble.


Voice#2 : My master has caused me to attack Tara.


Voice #1 : Dog had no right to attack me!


Voice #2 : People attack me all the time.


Voice#1 : Thank God for Mr. Ramnath!


Voice#2 : Nobody protects me.


Voice#1 : I am Tara, a little girl.


Voice#2 : I am Dog, an animal.


Composed by Brian Kelly and Gina Henry

MY PARTING THOUGHTS

Hi Colleagues ,
I was asked to post the other two principles, so, here they are:
* Learning is social.
We have long recognized the value of having students work together in a group to accomplish some types of learning tasks. However, a social theory of learning reflects a fundamentally different view, where knowledge "is a matter of competence with respect to valued enterprises" and knowing "is a matter of participating in the pursuit of such enterprises" (Wenger, 1998, p. 4). Learning, then, amounts to increasing participation in and contribution to the practices of a social community. Concepts such as knowledge building, and mentoring become paramount, as learners are conceived to be under the tutelage of more experienced peers or instructors. A social view of learning focuses attention on making connections among students within a school and between students in the school and the broader community. How can modern technologies support and enhance these connections?

* Learning is reflective.

Whether feedback comes from within, a peer or the teacher ,learning is facilitated when students get feedback about their thinking. Then, provided the opportunity for revision, students can achieve at higher levels and reach deeper understandings. Technologies that promote communication within and outside the classroom make it easier for feedback, reflection, and revision to occur. The skilful, knowledgeable teacher can facilitate reflection in the dialogue that technology can promote among learners. Where dialogue or discussion is not inherent in the tool, teachers bear the responsibility of initiating and guiding it.

MY PARTING THOUGHTS

Technology by itself does not guarantee learning. Rather, it is in how teachers and students use available technologies that determines whether transformative learning happens. Educators can respond to the challenge or they can explore the power of technology to help learners achieve important outcomes. Understanding principles of learning is a good way to begin.
                                          
                                                                                                  Lemoy Petit- Hunte

NOT Easy BUT Not Impossible

Actively engaging in ICT for Reading has caused me to reflect on the degree of ease for technology integration in our classrooms. I’ve determined that in spite of all the evidence that it can help learning, technology integration in schools is not easy to achieve. Now I said “not easy”, but I did not say not possible. It's important to integrate technology appropriately. I advocate considering what is known about how people learn , the role technology may play in their learning and how that knowledge might provide guidelines for appropriate uses of technology that can help students and teachers. In preparing my lesson plans and my Web 2.0 thought paper, I conceived of a theoretical framework for thinking about how technology can support Reading instruction. This framework is based on four broad principles but, in this post, I choose to focus on two.

* Learning occurs in context.

Read the following sentence: "The notes were sour because the seams split."Although the words in the statement are common and familiar, it is quite likely you still found the sentence confusing. If you consider that the sentence is describing bagpipes , I suspect it would then make much better sense. My point here is that without an appropriate context, comprehension and learning, generally, are difficult. Keep in mind, however, that learners will attempt to make sense of anything unfamiliar, just as you attempted to make sense of that sentence. When they do so, they draw upon prior understandings and experience, but the meanings they construct may be quite different from what was intended if they cannot activate an appropriate context for learning.

* Learning is active.

A Chinese proverb says “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” This speaks the importance of getting learners mentally involved in learning activities, generating connections between what they already know and what they are being asked to learn and constructing meaning from their experiences. Scardamella (2002) states that the focus of learning shifts from covering the syllabus to working with ideas when students become active participants in the knowledge construction process . I believe that using technology tools "to think with" facilitates working with ideas and learning from that process.

Lemoy Petit-Hunte

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT?

Hi M.Ed. Reading students,

Now that we've learned to use blog, wikis, concept mapping, and create our own e-Books and digital photostories, what are we going to do what this new -found knowledge and skills? I feel the need to ask. Is there going to be a ripple-effect into our schools? Is this something we are going to keep to ourselves and pat ourselves on the back because somehow we feel we are officially now much more knowledgeable than "the others"? Is there some kind of plan or driving force that would spur us on(as individuals or as a team) to be catalysts of and for changes/shifts in educational approaches and programmes that would really demonstrate technology integration as literacy development tools? In other words, what are we now going to do with the knowledge and skills gained via engaging in ICT for Reading?
I feel like uncovered  popcorn in a pot on a lit stove ! I'm  popping, spilling over and hard to contain!Don't anyone dare try to cover me. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way ,but please, in the height of preparing for next semester's hectic schedule and now having to speediliy conceptualize our research framework, let us not lose sight of  our responsibilities to take these shifts/changes somewhere... maybe our schools .
                                                       Lemoy

My Post-Reflective View and Concept of Information Communication Technology Integration into School Practice

Having engaged in the course ICT for Reading, I now strongly believe that ICT represents a very powerful tool for supporting learning which is already deeply rooted in many professional environments and cultures but most apparent in the informatics and computer science disciplines. I congratulate the developers of the M.Ed. Reading programme in placing paramount interest in investigating and examining the role of school teachers/Reading Specialists as both ICT-system users and mentors for learners involved in ICT supported learning processes.
I know my perceptions regarding the usefulness and possibilities of ICT integration as a literacy development tool have made a positive shift . Whereas , I was somewhat skeptical at the onset of the course, I am delighted that my views have changed. Now, I posit that ICT applications and competence in schools :

-can contribute to a more rational organizing and running of educational institutions which is comparable with the motives of introducing ICT systems in private and public enterprises.

- are required and important assets of teachers and Reading Specialists in modern society. Digital literacy is considered important and equal to other more traditional competences such as reading and writing .

- are not only goals in themselves but means of supporting pedagogical processes which will contribute to an enhancement of learning outcome in most subjects.

A Reflective Lemoy