What does transitive an intransitive mean?

Answer 1

These are two types of verbs. Transitive verbs show action, and they must have a direct object. For example: David hit Joe three times during the fight. The transitive verb is "hit"-- it shows an action, and the direct object (the person who received that action) is Joe. David is the subject-- the doer of the action. Another example: Mrs. Jones hugged her grandson. The transitive verb is "hugged." Mrs. Jones is the subject (she did it), and her grandson is the object, the receiver of the action.

An intransitive verb is different in one important way: while it does show action, it has no direct object. For example: We traveled for ten hours. The verb is "traveled" but there is no receiver of this action. Or, Mr. Jones went to the movie. The verb is "went" but nobody did anything other than Mr. Jones, and he is the subject of the sentence.

Answer 2

Transitive and intransitive refer to how verbs relate to their objects. A transitive verb requires a direct object to complete its meaning, while an intransitive verb does not require a direct object. For example, in the sentence "She ate the apple," "ate" is transitive because it needs the direct object "apple" to make sense. In contrast, in the sentence "He sleeps," "sleeps" is intransitive because it does not require a direct object.