Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

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2356

Hello teacher,
‘You had better travel to
Helsiniki’ and ‘Dr. Ryan travelled the world”.
Why is there a direct object after ‘travel’ in one of these sentences, but not in the other one?
Thanks

Some verbs, for example invite, are always followed by a direct object:

  • Have you invited Ted Mosby to your wedding?
  • Let’s invite Robin too!
  • Why do you want to invite her?

 
In the above sentences, Ted, Robin and her are the objects. You cannot use the verb ‘invite’ without an object:

  • Let’s invite. (incorrect)

 
Verbs that always take a direct object are called TRANSITIVE VERBS.
Other examples are:
want, kick, paint, write, bake, surprise
 

  • Barney wants to marry Robin.
  • He kicked Ted under the table.
  • They painted a beautiful picture.
  • He’s written fifty letters to her.
  • Lily surprised Marshall when she baked some bread.

 
 
INTRANSITIVE VERBS, on the other hand, do not take direct objects:
 

  • Can I sit here?
  • He’s so serious. He never laughs.
  • When I catch a cold, I always sneeze a lot.
  • Cathy always arrives late.
  • Did you go to Barney’s party?
  • Have you been waiting long?

 
However, there are some verbs that have both transitive and intransitive uses:
lose, win, eat, run, sing, travel
 

  • We lost/won again. (intransitive)
  • We lost/won the match. (transitive)
  • You must eat regularly. (intransitive)
  • Mum, Doris is eating my marshmallow! (transitive)
  • I run every morning. (intransitive)
  • I want to run a marathon. (transitive)
  • I always sing in the shower. (intransitive)
  • I sang a Mariah Carey song this morning. (transitive)
  • Last year I travelled to Italy. (intransitive)
  • Dr Ryan has travelled the world. (transitive)

 
 
In the expression ‘travel the world’, the verb ‘travel’ is transitive and the ‘world’ is the object. This usage, however, is rather peculiar and even linguists may disagree about what this structure really is. Some will say it’s ‘travel’ used as a transitive word while others might say it’s short for ‘travel around the world’ where ‘around’ is left out.

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