Verbs which can be used in both intransitive and transitive clauses

3.47 There are several reasons why you can use verbs in intransitive as well as transitive clauses.

3.48 One important reason for using verbs in intransitive as well as transitive clauses is that many verbs have more than one common meaning. For example, the verb 'run' is intransitive when it is used in the sense 'to move quickly'. But 'run' is transitive when it is used in the sense 'to manage or operate'.

The hare runs at enormous speed.

She runs a hotel.

She reflected for a moment and then decided to back out.

His ideas reflected the influence of progressive thinkers.

I can manage perfectly well on my own.

I can no longer manage my life.

She moved rather gracefully.

The whole incident had moved her profoundly.

3.49 here is a list of verbs which can be used in intransitive as well as transitive clauses, depending on which meaning you are using:

add aim beat blow call change cheat count draw dress

drive escape exercise fit fly follow hang head hold hurt

leak lose manage meet miss move pass play point press

propose reflect run shoot show sink spread stand stretch strike

study tend touch turn win

3.50 Many verbs in English can be used with or without an object, with the same basic meaning. The object is not needed when it is obvious what type of thing you are talking about.

For example, you could say either 'She eats food slowly' or 'She eats slowly'. It is obvious in this context that what she eats is food, and so you only mention food if you want to emphasize the fact (which is unlikely), or if you want to say what hind of food she eats.

With verbs like these, you normally use an object only when you want to be specific or when you want to contrast what happened on one specific occasion with what happens normally. For example, you would say 'I've been studying history', as opposed to 'I've been studying', only if you want or need to mention the subject specifically, or if you normally study something else.

...a healthy person who eats sensibly.

Twice a week he eats an apple for lunch.

Father never smoked or drank.

He drank a good deal of coffee.

He had won—and she had helped.

She could help him to escape.

I cooked for about eight directors.

She had never cooked dinner for anyone.

I washed and ironed for them.

She ironed my shift.

Rudolph waved and went into the house.

She smiled and waved her hand.

She sat and typed.

She typed a letter to the paper in question.

You need to give the object when it is different from the one that people would normally associate with the verb. For example, 'to wave' is usually interpreted as meaning 'to wave your hand', so if something else is being waved, you have to mention it.

He waved a piece of paper in his left hand.

Charlie washed Susan's feet.

Many growers save their own seeds.

You also mention the object when you warn to say something specific about it.

He washed his summer clothes and put them away.

Bond waved a cheerful hand.

I could save quite a lot of money.

3.51 Here is a list of verbs which can be used without an object when it is obvious what sort of thing is involved:

borrow change clean cook draw drink

drive dust eat film help iron

learn lend marry paint park point

read ride save sing smoke spend

steal study type wash wave write

object already mentioned 3.52 There is another group of verbs which are usually transitive but which can be used intransitively with the same meaning. These are verbs where the object is obvious because it has already been mentioned. For example, if you have already mentioned the place where something happened, you can say 'I left', without naming the place again.

At last she thanked them and left.

He turned away and walked quickly up the passage. I locked the door and followed.

I was in the middle of a quiet meal when the tanks attacked.

She did not look round when the he entered.

The sentry fired at the doctor and fortunately missed.

Only two or three hundred men belonged to the Union before the war, now thousands joined.

3.53 Here is a list of verbs which can be used without an object when the object has already been mentioned:

accept aim answer approach ask attack begin bite blow board call

check choose consider direct dry enter explain fit follow forget gain

guess improve join judge know lead leave lose mind miss move

notice observe offer order pass phone play produce pull push remember

ring rule search search share sign strike telephone understand watch win

3.54 If you think that the object may not be obvious from what has been said or if you particularly want to draw attention to it, you mention it.

All I know is that Michael and I never left the house.

Miss Lindley followed Rose into the shop.

He attacked the enemy by night.

I entered the Duke's cabin without knocking.

She threw the first dart and missed the board altogether.

I had joined an athletic club in Chicago.

3.55 There are not many verbs which are always transitive or always intransitive. The decision about whether or not to mention an object is left to the users. If they think that the people reading or listening to them will have no difficulty in working out what person or thing is affected by the action, then they can leave out the object. If they think that this will not be clear, they will use an object in order to prevent misunderstanding. The main reasons for omitting the object are that it is obvious from the meaning of the verb itself, or that it is obvious from what has already been said.