Transitive/Intransitive Verbs List

Verbs are the engines of sentences, but not all work the same way. Transitive verbs transfer action to a direct object (“She kicked the ball”), while intransitive verbs complete their meaning without one (“He slept”). Knowing the difference sharpens grammar, improves clarity, and helps you avoid fragments and wordy constructions. To test a verb, ask “what?” or “whom?” after it; if an answer appears, the verb is transitive. If not, it’s intransitive. Some verbs can be both, depending on context. The tables below list examples, pairing each verb with a sentence to illustrate how meaning changes with objects or without.

1) Verbs which are always transitive

Transitive verbs are followed by an object.

Verb	Example sentence
admire	We admire her courage.
afford	I can’t afford the fee.
allow	They allowed us entry.
blame	She blamed the weather.
bring	Please bring your passport.
buy	He bought a laptop.
contain	The jar contains sugar.
cost	The tickets cost me ₹5000.
cut	She cut the rope.
deny	He denied the rumor.
enjoy	We enjoyed the concert.
examine	The doctor examined the patient.
excuse	Please excuse my lateness.
fetch	She fetched the mail.
fix	They fixed the leak.
get	I got the job.
give	She gave me a pen.
greet	They greeted the guests.
have	We have a problem.
hit	He hit the ball.
inform	Please inform the team.
interest	The topic interests me.
lend	He could only lend me a dollar.
let	Let me explain this.
like	She always likes him.
love	They love their dog.
make	He made a cake.
mean	What do you mean?
name	They named the baby Aarav.
need	I need help.
offer	She offered us tea.
omit	Don’t omit the detail.
owe	I owe you ₹200.
pick	Pick a card.
prefer	I prefer coffee.
prove	This proves the theory.
put	Put the keys here.
question	The police questioned him.
remind	Remind me tomorrow.
rent	We rented a car.
rob	They robbed the bank.
select	Select one option.
send	She sent an email.
show	Show me the photo.
take	Take this umbrella.
teach	The palmist taught me to read palms.
want	I want a refund.
wrap	Please wrap the gift.
write	The professor wrote an encyclopedia on astrology.

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2) Verbs that are always intransitive

Intransitive verbs do not take an object. Instead of an object, the verbs are typically followed by a phrase as the following examples show.

• lie (lied), lie (lay/lain)

Verb	Example sentence
abound	His back garden abounds with weeds.
ache	My head aches.
agree	We agree completely.
appear	A rainbow appeared.
arrive	They arrive at the airport as the sun rises.
become	She became famous.
bloom	The roses bloom in spring.
come	Come early, please.
cough	He coughed loudly.
cry	The baby is crying.
dance	They danced all night.
die	The plant died.
exist	Unicorns don’t exist.
faint	He fainted suddenly.
fall	The leaves fell.
gallop	The horses galloped past.
go	We went home.
hesitate	Don’t hesitate.
laugh	They laughed together.
lie*	He lay on the sofa.
linger	We lingered outside.
live	They live nearby.
look	She looked around.
occur	Mistakes occur.
pause	She paused briefly.
pray	While the parents are praying, the baby is crying.
rain	It rained all night.
remain	Prices remained stable.
respond	He responded quickly.
rise	The sun rises at six.
sit	Please sit.
sleep	He slept peacefully.
smile	She smiled.
sneeze	He sneezed twice.
stand	We stood silently.
swim	They swam across.
talk	We talked for hours.
thrive	The startup is thriving.
yawn	I yawned and then he yawned.

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3) Verbs that are transitive/intransitive

Example sentences showing same verbs that can be transitive and intransitive.

Verb	Example sentence(s)
answer	She answered my question. (T) — She answered reluctantly. (I)
ask	He asked a favor. (T) — Don’t ask yet. (I)
begin	Let’s begin the meeting. (T) — The show began. (I)
borrow	He borrowed some money from his mother. (T) — He borrowed heavily from his father. (I)
choose	Choose a seat. (T) — Let the market choose. (I)
climb	They climbed the hill. (T) — The path climbs steeply. (I)
dance	We danced the waltz. (T) — She danced beautifully. (I)
eat	She ate an apple. (T) — You need to eat less… (I)
enter	He entered the room. (T) — Winter entered early. (I)
fail	He failed the test. (T) — Plans sometimes fail. (I)
fill	Fill the form. (T) — The hall filled quickly. (I)
grow	They grow tomatoes. (T) — The noise grew. (I)
help	Please help me. (T) — Help arrived. (I)
hurry	Hurry the process. (T) — Hurry! (I)
jump	She jumped the fence. (T) — He jumped. (I)
know	I know the answer. (T) — You know, right? (I)
leave	She left the house early. (T) — She left early. (I)
marry	He married his friend. (T) — They married young. (I)
meet	We met the author. (T) — Let’s meet later. (I)
obey	Obey the rules. (T) — Soldiers obey. (I)
pay	I paid the bill. (T) — It doesn’t pay to argue. (I)
play	They played chess. (T) — The kids played outside. (I)
promise	She promised help. (T) — He promised. (I)
pull	Pull the door. (T) — The train pulled away. (I)
read	Read the article. (T) — She reads before bed. (I)
refuse	He refused the offer. (T) — He refused politely. (I)
see	I saw a rainbow. (T) — We’ll see. (I)
sell	The parents sold the house to their son. (T) — Their pet monkey was sold cheap to a friend. (I)
sing	She sang a song. (T) — She sang beautifully. (I)
tell	He told us a few short stories. (T) — You never can tell. (I)
touch	Don’t touch the wire. (T) — Don’t touch! (I)
walk	She walked three puppies once a day. (T) — She walked into the wrong office. (I)
wash	Wash the dishes. (T) — After the storm, everything washed away. (I)
watch	We watched a movie. (T) — Wait and watch. (I)
win	They won the match. (T) — Sometimes you win. (I)
write	He wrote a letter. (T) — He writes at night. (I)