Category: Class

A transitive verb is an action word that uses an object as a receiver of the action. The transitive verbs are underlined in the following example sentences:

I appreciate your concern.

We have to retain indispensable employees.

I couldn’t find them.

Sally adores children.

What are Direct and Indirect Objects?

If the object follows the transitive verb, it is a direct object. It usually answers the question “what” or “whom”?

The receiver of the direct object is the indirect object. It tells to whom or for whom the action is for.

Example:

Janice gave her sister a dress.

Janice is the subject.

gave is the verb.

What was given? A dress.

A dress is the direct object.

Who received the dress (indirect object)? Her sister.

Her sister is the indirect object.

A direct object and an indirect object can be used in the same sentence with some transitive verbs.

Jane bought him a present.

him [indirect object]                        a present [direct object]

They gave her a homework.

her [indirect object]                       a homework [direct object]

The following are some common verbs that can be used with a direct and indirect object:

Verb                                               Example

Pass                                               She passed him the bowl of soup.

Leave                                            Leave me a note so that I’ll know what to do.

Cost                                               Her arrogance cost her her friends.

Wish                                              They wished us the best of luck.

Lend                                              She lent me her winter clothes.

Buy                                                She buys her a cup of coffee.

Make                                             I made us some breakfast.

Sell                                                She sold me her house.

Show                                            Alex showed me his new car.

Offer                                            They offered her the highest position in the company.

Intransitive verbs

It is a verb that does not have a direct object. In the sentence, there is no mention of who or what received the action performed.

Here are some examples of intransitive verbs:

The children are playing.

They are studying in Bristol University.

They smiled sweetly.

We studied overnight.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

There are many verbs that can both be transitive and intransitive. Here are some examples:

His mother sang a lullaby. [transitive]

She usually sings alone.  [intransitive]

She left her home at six o’clock this morning. [transitive]

She left at six o’clock. [intransitive]

Here are some common verbs that can both be used as a transitive and intransitive:

Verb           Transitive                                                   Intransitive

change       Her fame totally changed her.               My school has changed a lot.

start            She started the whole fight.                   The party starts at 7 p.m.

run              She runs a hair salon.                               She ran across the hall.

do               She has to do her homework soon.        I am doing just fine.

set              She set a meeting for the bosses.           The sun sets at 6pm.

stop           We tried to stop her from making           The music stopped.

a big mistake.

open         Open the door and let the cool                The store opens at 9am.

 wind in.

close         Close the door and leave the bags          Restaurants in the city close early.

outside.

move       Could you move your things to the           The cars were moving slowly.

left please?

write        Please write me a letter soon.                   She writes legibly.

wash        Please wash your clothes.                          I usually wash at night.

A modal continuous is just one variety of the many modal forms.We use it to express A-A-C-L-O-O-P-R-S (ability, advice, capacity, likelihood, obligation, order, permission, request, suggestions).

Form

To form modal continuous, simply remember this formula.

modal + be + -ing

Past Modal Continuous

For past modal continuous, use should, would, could, might. Then add be and of course, an -ing verb.

Use

• Use past modal continuous when you are not sure if the subject is doing an action. However, this action is possible, necessary, or likely.

I could be living in Vietnam then. I can’t remember now.
We should be keeping an eye on his progress at school.
She would be regretting this decision.
His flashy personality might be ruining his blind date.

Present Modal Continuous

For present modal continuous, use can, must, may, will, shall. Then add be and of course, an -ing verb.

Use

• Use present modal continuous when you are not sure if the subject will be in the middle of doing an action or is planning to take an action in the future. However, this action is possible, necessary, or likely that he is or will.

The young girls must be thinking about their spring dance.
The audience will be sneering at his corny jokes.
The child may be imbibing his parents’ habits.
He shall be demonstrating proper first aid for sprains.
Her eyes can be stinging from the smoke.

Modal Continuous Exercise

Answer this exercise on modal continuous.

1. I ______ this song right now.

a. should be memorizing

b. may be memorizing

c. would be memorizing

2. I have no idea where she is. She _____ with friends in New York.

a. will be staying

b. should be staying

c. must be staying

3. Too much pressure from the management _____ to her stress level.

a. will be contributing

b. might be contributing

c. should be contributing

4. He _____ with his friends if not for his girlfriend’s request for him to stay with her.

a. shall be going

b. would be going

c. must be going

5. Our guests _____ earlier that we thought.

a. may be arriving

b. could be arriving

c. can be arriving

6. They ____ the fireworks display now.

a. shall be watching

b. could be watching

c. might be watching

7. We are not sure we can visit grandma next week. We _____ on holiday.

a. might be going

b. can be going

c. should be going

8. Your students _____ for you.

a. may be waiting

b. could be waiting

c. should be waiting

9. I didn’t see him yesterday. He ______ from me.

a. might be hiding

b. shall be hiding

c. will be hiding

10. It was very quiet. The children _____.

a. could be studying

b. would be studying

c. must be studying

Find the answers to this exercise here.

See also: Modals of Deduction and Speculation and Modals: Can’t Have, Needn’t Have.

For additional information on this topic, check out this Cambridge Grammar lesson.

For other English grammar lessons, go to this page.

• Phrasal verbs are usually formed when we pair verbs with adverbs or prepositions.

We  usually use the following to form phrasal verbs:

In, off, on, by, up, down, out, away, back, round, through, about, along, over, forward

Example:

I will get off at 7th Street.

Get off is an example of a phrasal verb

• Sometimes a phrasal verb is followed by a preposition.

Examples:

run away + from – Turman’s cmpany ran away from its obligation.
look forward + to – We look forward to meeting you in person.

• Sometimes a phrasal verb has an object.

Example:

pick up + someone / pick someone up

-She picked her son up at the airport.
-She picked up her son at the airport.
– She picked him up at the airport.

BUT – “She picked up him at the airport.” is WRONG.

• We often use on/off/out etc. with verbs of movement.

Example:

Get on – She has to get on the train before it leaves!

Get off – I usually get off at Pearl Drive.
Go out – I had to go out of the office for a bit.

• However, adding these words to verbs often changes the meaning of the phrase.

Example:

get by – manage to do something

The exam was quite challenging. How did you get by?

• If a verb is irregular, the past simple and past participle do not end in –ed.

Example: The security guard foresaw the robber’s intent to cause panic in the shop.
(Foresee-foresaw)

• All three forms (infinitive, past, participle) are the same with some verbs.

Example: The government shut down our branch in Osaka last year.
(shut down – shut down- shut down)

• Some irregular verbs have the same past and past participle forms but not the same infinitive form.

Example: The CEO thought that Jeff’s proposal was interesting.
(think – thought – thought)

• For other irregular verbs, all three forms are different.

Example: Our Company underwent an unprecedented growth last year.
(undergo- underwent – undergone)

• Some verbs can be regular or irregular.

Example: He burned his hand while cooking.
She burnt the eggs she was cooking.

Burn-burned or burnt

Spell-spelled or spelt

Learn-learned or learnt

Spill-spilled or spilt

Smell-smelled or smelt

Spoil-spoiled or spoilt

Irregular verbs

bid-bid-bid

-To submit a competitive proposal to buy or sell
products or services

hold on to – held on to – held on to

-To keep in one’s possession

undertake-undertook-undertaken

-To accept a challenging/difficult responsibility