Questions tagged [transitive-verbs]
Questions about verbs that require an object; they are not complete without a direct object.
161
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"Let's" vs. "lets": which is correct?
Say I'm promoting a product. Which is correct?
[Product] let's you [do something awesome].
[Product] lets you [do something awesome].
Or neither?
22
votes
11
answers
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Is there an English transitive verb meaning "to make someone/something valuable"?
I'm thinking something along the lines of "imbue" or "instill", but neither of those words work perfectly unless you append "with value".
Ideally this would be a word ...
22
votes
3
answers
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When to bemoan and when to moan
I've tried looking this up and I've read somewhat unhelpful advice like "to bemoan something is to moan about something".
I am mostly aware when one feels correct, and when one does not, but I'm not ...
21
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3
answers
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"Pay rise" vs "pay raise"
Which sentence below is correct?
Ben received a pay rise.
Ben received a pay raise.
17
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3
answers
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Is "create new" not pleonastic?
I wonder why the verb "create" is often followed by the word "new". Does "create" not imply "new"? When I read (in programming languages, for example) "...
16
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3
answers
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"Elaborate" as a transitive verb?
It is common to speak of "elaborating on (or upon) a topic." However, I have been told that this is appropriate only when some explanation has already been given; if no information is yet known, then ...
11
votes
4
answers
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"Help us grow this site"?
I've never liked the use of "to grow [x]" to mean "to make [x] bigger", rather than in the agricultural sense.
Am I justified in this at all?
(If so, can we make the SE team reword our social media ...
10
votes
3
answers
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Why "answer me" but not "answer me the question"?
Why are "answer me" and "answer the question" acceptable but not "answer me the question"? Is it similar to "explain me (something)"?
10
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2
answers
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"Disappear" as a transitive verb
I hear it more on more frequently on the news, as in:
The North-Korean regime has disappeared scores of dissidents over the past twenty years.
Has disappear always been used in such a way, as a ...
10
votes
4
answers
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Can "shop" (related to selling or stores) be used as a transitive verb?
How is shop used as a transitive verb? The only transitive meanings I can find are reporting someone to police or Photoshopping an image.
I found one discussion about transitive 'shop', centered on ...
9
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2
answers
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What is the difference between "raise" and "rise"?
What is the difference between raise and rise? When and how should I use each one?
8
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1
answer
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What is it called when I poop the dog?
I'm wondering what it is called when a non-transitive verb is used as a transitive verb. An example would be if someone took the dog outside so it could defecate, and said,
I pooped the dog.
I ...
8
votes
2
answers
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Dropping "it" in America
Before I embraced descriptive grammar it would really grind my gears when I heard, usually from someone with a US American accent, phrases like "I hate when that happens". "Hate is a transitive verb!" ...
7
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3
answers
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Is "update" transitive or intransitive?
According to many dictionaries including merriam-webster, update is a transitive verb. So I expect the following sentence (used in Firefox) to be incorrect:
Please wait while Firefox is updating.
...
6
votes
2
answers
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"Email me" and "mail to me"
Why is it correct to say "email me", whereas with the word mail we say/write "mail to me"?
6
votes
1
answer
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"Hover a link" vs "hover over a link" [closed]
Which is correct: "hover a link" or "hover over a link"?
(context: hovering a mouse over a computer hyperlink)
I'd especially appreciate a reference (like a dictionary citation) so that I learn how ...
6
votes
2
answers
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Sit v. sit down
I seriously cannot find any good, thorough responses to this question, and I'm trying to help out a non-native friend.
Sit down implies motion. I understand that because of the preposition "down".
...
5
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4
answers
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Literary devices and sentence structure in Matthew 7:1 (KJV)
I am a student who is looking for help on a specific portion of my discussion. I have been asked the following questions with respect to this KJV verse:
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
-- ...
5
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2
answers
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Intransitive verbs with preposition in passive sentences [duplicate]
The words listen, shout, etc. are intransitive verbs, but why are they used in passive sentences with preposition to, at, etc.?
e.g:
she was never listened to.
I don’t like to be shouted at. ...
5
votes
2
answers
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Why are "indemnify" and "condemn" spelled differently?
Comparing the words indemnify and condemn:
Both contain demn as a root
Both are transitive verbs
Why is one spelled differently from the other – why not indemn, or condemnify?
5
votes
1
answer
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Is there a word for a verb which requires an adverb or prep. phrase in order to make sense?
Put is the one I'm thinking of. It is always transitive, but even with a direct object, it still makes no sense without an adverb or prepositional phrase.
I put it somewhere.
I put it on the shelf.
...
5
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2
answers
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Can any transitive verb be accompanied by a preposition?
Galileo was forced to recant his assertion that the earth orbited the
sun (Oxford Dictionary)
Can one recant on an absence of belief? (The Secret Intensity of
Everyday Life)
The first “...
5
votes
2
answers
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Can “itch” be a transitive verb, i.e., can an itch be itched?
Can itch be used as a transitive verb? In other words, can you itch an itch as you would scratch an itch? Dictionaries differ, with the bigger hitters saying no. Are they bearing the proper standard ...
5
votes
1
answer
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Why is "He climbed the mountain up" incorrect?
Now I know, because an adverb cannot be placed between a verb and its direct object, the only way we parse "He climbed up the mountain" is as an intransitive verb (climb) + prepositional ...
4
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2
answers
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Is "He died himself." a correct sentence?
I've checked Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and I found that die is an intransitive verb most of the time. I checked other dictionaries as well. I didn't find any usage of "die" as per which we ...
4
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3
answers
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What is wrong with phrasing like "configure how"?
I'm doing some editing and one sentence I'm navigating says "You can configure how the thing appears." (That's a paraphrase.) I think it is wrong because "configure" is a transitive verb and needs a ...
4
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3
answers
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"The same X" and intransitive verbs
As I have had explained to me at great length, wonder is intransitive.
That's fine, but it can seem to take an object:
Jim: Yesterday I wondered what that mark on the wall was made by
Dave: I ...
4
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4
answers
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How can I use “fête” as a verb in active voice?
Oxford Dictionaries cites a verb as an entry for fête and gives a passive example. How can I use fête in the active voice? For example, can one fête an occasion with pomp and circumstance?
4
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1
answer
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“Comment on something” or “comment something”?
Do I say “comment on something” or simply “comment something”?
For example:
Brian ?commented on this video.
Brian ?commented this video
4
votes
1
answer
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Mnemotechnic approach to identifying transitive vs verb-adjective constructs
I'm no linguist, grammarian and not even an english speaker, please bear with me. I'm looking for a quick way to identify transitive vs intransitive constructs, for example, in the sentence
"the ...
4
votes
2
answers
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What's the difference between using the verb "change" transitively and intransitively?
I am confused about using transitive and intransitive verbs for making passive sentences. Especially when that verb can be both (like the verb change).
4
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3
answers
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"Run on an OS" vs. "run under an OS"
What is the correct way to specify the operating system you are targeting or using?
Is a program running on or under an operating system (OS)?
Is a machine running an OS or under an OS?
4
votes
1
answer
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"Have at it" : what's the object of the transitive verb "have" here?
I intuitively understand the meaning of the phrase "have at it!", but I can't explain it to myself. I understand that "to have" in this sense requires an object to be valid, so why is it missing here ...
4
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2
answers
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What are the meanings of the sentences where "Not that" is followed by an object-missing expression?
According to my observation, there are at least two types of using "Not that....". And my question is: what does "not that" mean in its second type of usage?
In the first usage, "not that" is ...
4
votes
1
answer
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If a transitive verb can also be used as a noun, is there a requirement that there be the equivalent of a direct object?
Harm is a transitive verb. Transitive verbs require a direct object; my question is whether there is any requirement that when used as a noun, the word "harm" also requires a direct object. In other ...
4
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5
answers
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Can the phrase 'is contained in' be substituted by a single word?
If a lunchbox contains an apple, then the apple is contained in a lunchbox. Is it possible to replace the phrase 'is contained in' with a single word? I can't think of one, and the thesaurus hasn't ...
4
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0
answers
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"Say" and "said" as transitive and intransitive verbs
I have an interesting question. Is "say" a transitive verb in the case of direct/reported speech? I understand that it can be a transitive verb in cases like "She said the phrase." or "She says the ...
3
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2
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Is "fished" a transitive verb in "I fished around in my pocket for my keys"?
In English it doesn't sound natural to say "I fished a fish." You would say "I caught a fish." However, in the instances where I can think of using fish as a verb, it must take a preposition (around, ...
3
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4
answers
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Which is proper: "to debate X" or "to debate about X"?
Which version of this sentence is correct?
Doctoral students about to graduate, like me, often debate about what qualities make a successful scientist.
Doctoral students about to graduate, ...
3
votes
2
answers
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Is “bescumber” transitive or intransitive?
Behold!
Did my lawn mower bescumber my neighbor's fence (transitive), or did it bescumber on my neighbor's fence (intransitive)?
Or should I switch to passive voice and say my neighbor's fence was ...
3
votes
2
answers
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Intransitive use of the verb “reduce”
I know that the verb “reduce”, which is often followed by an object, can also be used intransitively, as dictionaries show very clearly. What I am unsure of, however, is whether “reduce” could ...
3
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3
answers
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Transitive use of suicide
To suicide is an intransitive verb meaning “to kill oneself”. I’ve seen it sometime used it transitevly meaning “made to commit suicide” as in the following examples:
From “The Enigma of Ralph A. ...
3
votes
1
answer
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What are some give-type verbs that cannot undergo straight dative alternation?
The following dative alternations sound off to me:
I want to donate my clothes to charity. --> I want to donate charity my clothes.
He has to submit his paper to his teacher. --> He has to ...
3
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3
answers
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Can "intrude" be used transitively?
We can say "invade someone's privacy", but can the verb "intrude" be used in the same way without a preposition? As in,
Don't intrude my privacy.
Or should it be:
Don't intrude into my ...
3
votes
1
answer
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How did "itch" come to be used to mean "scratch" as in "I had to itch my leg"?
None of the regular sources list itch as a transitive verb meaning to scratch. Yet I hear it used that way in American English all the time. One of the British mods of this site says the usage occurs ...
3
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4
answers
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"To search for something" versus "to look for something": are these verbs synonyms? [closed]
Are the verb phrases "to search for something" and "to look for something" synonyms?
3
votes
1
answer
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Framing with real evidence
Normally to frame somebody means
3 informal produce false evidence against (an innocent person) so that they appear guilty
Now what in case of a cautious criminal who took care to hide/remove the ...
3
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2
answers
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Is “Now I lay me down to sleep” grammatical?
This is in a song I’ve heard. Is it grammatically correct?
3
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5
answers
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Why is "look" transitive in "look you in the eye"?
Why is look used as a transitive verb in the phrase look you in the eye?
I checked look in Cambridge Dictionaries and found only an intransitive look, not a transitive one.
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7
answers
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What word describes the process of a ship being slowly "swallowed" in the sea?
Trying to find a word which will describe the slow process of the absorption of a ship by the sea. Metaphysical words are also welcome.
Sea water swallowed the ship.