A transitive verb is used to talk about an action or event and is followed by one or more objects.
They cancelled the match.
They gave me a present. (2 objects)
I thanked him for helping my brother.
They sold the house.
She carried the bag.
She has always liked tennis.
Sam put his hand on Suzy's shoulder.
Why did she kill her husband?
My children get good grades in school.
Jennifer loves playing the piano.
The author tells a good story.
My brother writes short stories about the South.
Notice how after these verbs you can always ask: what or who / whom?
What did they cancel?
What did she carry?
Who did you thank?
The list of transitive verbs
An intransitive verb is a verb that is used to talk about an action or event that only involves the subject and so does not have an object.
She went to school three hours ago.
They'll arrive soon.
She was sitting on the shore looking at the sea.
She died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 98.
The door creaked.
She wept bitterly.
Such people still exist.
Uncle Ted's chair collapsed under his weight.
Upstairs the baby began to cry.
Some of the verbs can be both transitive and intransitive:
Because of blood sugar problems, Rosa always eats before leaving for school.
Eats = intransitive verb.
If there is no leftover pizza, Rosa usually eats whole-grain cereal.
Eats = transitive verb; cereal = direct object.
