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I. Transitive Verbs.

A verb that expresses action may be complete; thus,-

Birds fly.

A dog barks.

A verb that expresses action may require an object to complete its meaning; thus,

The dog caught a rabbit.

He chased a butterfly.

i. What is the object of a verb? 2. Of what part of speech may the object be? 3. What does a noun, or a pronoun, used as the object of a verb, represent? 4. As you read each sentence following, mention the verb, and answer these questions about it:

(a) What does it express ?

(b) Could it be used alone as a predicate? If not, why not?

(c) By what kind of word, if any, is the verb completed?

(d) of what use is the noun, or pronoun, which completes the verb ?

We visited the mill this morning.

The water turns the wheel.

The wheel grinds the corn.

We found him at the mill.
Winnie tore her dress.

She wore it to school.

Her mother punished her.

5. Fill each blank in the following with a noun, or a pronoun, that wi!' show who, or what, is acted upon:

Men dig
He drives

She teaches

We saw

You love

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They broke
He leads
We found
I heard

It sees

In sentences like Men dig ditches, Diamonds cut glass, the action expressed by the verb is said to pass over to the person, or thing, represented by the object.

XXX. A verb that expresses an action which passes over to some person, or thing, represented in the sentence is a transitive verb.*

1. What is a transitive verb?

2. Write five declarative sentences, and use a transitive verb in each.

3. What is the object of a transitive verb?

4. Of what part of speech may the object be?

5. Draw a line under every noun, or pronoun, used in sentences as the object of a transitive verb.

your

6. As you read these sentences, mention every pronoun used as the object of a transitive verb, and tell of what case the pronoun is:

The children followed us to the woods.

The sailors left them on the shore.

It annoyed me. They discovered him.
We cross the river every day.

I rejoice with you in your success.
Albert brought his books to school.
He laid them on the desk.

We caught them in a trap.

Rufus fell from that window.

Lay it on the table.

* Transitive is from trans-it-us, which means going across, passing over.

7. Read from these sentences every verb that is not a transitive verb:

The dog worries the cat.

The cat catches mice.

I lay on the lounge an hour yesterday.

They rise at four.

Mice come out of their holes.

Mr. White mowed the grass.
The grass grew long and rank.
Mice gnaw wood and clothing.
I run, walk, jump, and stand.
He goes by rail to-morrow.

A verb that expresses an action which does not pass over to some person, or thing, named in the sentence is an intransitive verb.

An intransitive verb is a complete verb; thus,

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We walked to school this morning.

The smoke rises slowly when the air is heavy.

8. What is an intransitive verb? What does the prefix in mean? From what is transitive derived?

does trans-it-us mean?

9. What kind of verbs are called transitive verbs?

10. Write a sentence in which you use

(a) a transitive verb,

(b) an intransitive verb,

What

(c) a verb that expresses existence,
(d) a verb that expresses condition,
(e) a pronoun which is the object of a verb.

II. Copulative Verbs.

A verb that expresses existence, or condition, is sometimes com

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Verbs like is, are, was, were, seems, looks, becomes, are

generally incomplete; thus,

Rome was a city.

God is good.

It seems right.

She looks pretty.

An incomplete verb which does not express action merely asserts, and connects to its subject one or more words used to show what is asserted; thus,

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NOTE. The object of a transitive verb always limits the application of the verb (by showing who, or what, received the act expressed by that verb); thus,

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But, the complement of a verb that does not express action

always tells us something about the person, or thing, represented by the subject; thus,

The child is happy.

They were Frenchmen.

I am a soldier.

The story is interesting.

1. As you read the following sentences, mention every

verb, and tell

(a) whether or not it expresses action,

(b) whether it is complete or incomplete,

(e) what is its complement,

(d) about what the complement tells us something, (e) what word connects the complement to its subject:The little girl is afraid. The child seems better.

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XXXI. A verb which merely asserts and couples to its subject a word, or words, used to show what is asserted, is a copulative verb.*

2. What is a copulative verb?

3. Of what use is the complement of a copulative verb?

4. Mention two kinds of verbs that are incomplete.

5. How can you tell a copulative verb from a transitive verb?

* Copulative is from copula, a coupler, or link.

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