3.5 intransitive or transitive verbs

The majority of verbs in English give you the option of presenting an event either as involving the subject only or as involving the subject and someone or something else as a direct object.

• He paints every day.
• Yarkov paints vivid portraits of friends and acquaintances.
• Gus asked me whether I'd like to have dinner with him. I accepted.
• I accepted the invitation.

This means that most verbs can be used in transitive clauses as well as intransitive clauses. Verbs which can be used in either type of clause are explained in paragraphs 3.47 to 3.55.

With some verbs, the thing affected by the action can be put as the object of the verb or as the object of a preposition after the verb. These verbs are explained in paragraphs 3.56 to 3.59.

Ergative verbs are a special kind of verb which can be used in intransitive or transitive clauses. They are explained in paragraphs 3.60 to 3.68.