31 Intransitive Verbs Examples:Sentences,Uses And Detailed Explanations

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In this article we will look at intransitive verbs examples through some  sentences .Detailed explanations  will  make the concept and use of intransitive verbs clear.

Intransitive verbs are action words which can stand alone in a sentence to complete the meaning .That means it does not need an object.

Let us go through some intransitive verbs examples.

  1. Mike died.
  2. Rahim smiled.
  3. She reads religiously.
  4. She laughs beautifully.
  5. He arrived last night.
  6. They walked for days.
  7. Children play in the park every day.
  8. The baby cried.
  9. He sneezed.
  10. Mr .Smith waited for hours.
  11. We sat down.
  12. The pot fell.
  13. A flock of birds flies in the sky.
  14. I am listening to songs.
  15. Horse galloped.
  16. He writes neatly.
  17. Hunters hunt.
  18. The girl went to the mall.
  19. Sprinters run daily
  20. Garry fought fearlessly.
  21. Ann laughed.
  22. Danny fled.
  23. He arrived at the airport.
  24. Ram sleeps peacefully
  25. The sun rose.
  26. He spoke clearly.
  27. Radha sang for hours.
  28. The dog never bites.
  29. Sam is playing in the backyard.
  30. The thief ran fast.
  31. The door opened suddenly.

Let us learn more about intransitive verb sentences through the explanations given below.

1. Mike died.

Here ‘Mike’ is the subject and ‘died’ is the verb. No object is hereafter the verb.Therefore ‘died’ is an intransitive verb.‘Subject intransitive verb’ is the sentence pattern used here. Note: ’Die’ is an intransitive-only verb

2. Rahim smiled.

The subject is ‘Rahim’.’Smiled’ is the verb. There is no object here.Therefore ‘smiled’ is an intransitive verb. Subject- intransitive verb is the sentence pattern followed here. Note: ‘smile’ is an intransitive-only verb.

3. She reads religiously.

Here she is the subject and ‘reads’ is the intransitive verb. The verb is intransitive because it lacks an object to act upon.

4. She laughs beautifully.

Here the verb ‘laughs’ is used as an intransitive verb because it does not depend on an object to complete its duty. It is to note that ‘beautifully’ is used as an adverb. It is not an object.

5. He arrived last night.

The verb used here is ‘arrived’. There is no object to receive the action of the verb. Therefore ’arrived’ is an intransitive verb. ‘Since last night’ answers the question ‘when did he arrive? ‘.So it does not work as an object. Note: ‘Arrive’ is an intransitive- only verb.

6. They walked for days.

This sentence does not have an object  . ‘For days’ is the answer to’ how long did they walk?’ .It is not answering ‘what did they walk?’ or ‘with whom did they walk?’. Therefore there is no object to the verb ‘walked’. Thus ‘walked’ is used as an intransitive verb.

7. Children play in the park every day.

Here ‘play’ is the verb and it does not have a direct object because it does not give answers to the questions’ what do the children play? ‘or‘with whom do they play?’.Therefore ‘play’ is used as an intransitive verb here.’In the park ‘ and ‘every day’ are prepositional phrase and adverb respectively.They are not objects to the verb ‘play’.

8. The baby cried.

The verb used here is ‘cried’. There is no object. So the absence of a direct object makes the verb’ cried’ an intransitive verb.

9. He sneezed.

Here there is no direct object.The action is not passed on here.Therefore ‘sneezed’ is used as an intransitive verb.

10. Mr.Smith waited for hours.

The sentence lacks an object .Therefore ‘waited’ is used as an intransitive verb here.

11. We sat down.

Here there is no object to the verb ‘sat’.Therefore the verb ‘sat’ is used  as an intransitive verb.’Down’ is used as an adverb ,not as the object that receives the action.

12. The pot fell.

The verb used here is ‘fell’. But it stands without an object. Therefore it is an intransitive verb .’Fell’ is an intransitive –only verb.

13. A flock of birds flies in the sky.

The subject used here is ‘A flock of birds’ ,which is a collective noun.The verb ‘flies’ fits in the sentence without an object.Therefore the verb ‘flies’ is used as an intransitive verb here. ’In the sky’ is a prepositional phrase, not an object to the verb ‘flies’.

14. I am listening to songs

Here the verb’ listening’ is not followed by an object. So it is an intransitive verb. The word ‘songs’  follows the preposition ’to’, not the verb .Therefore ‘songs’ is not the object to the verb ‘listening’.

15. Horse galloped.

Here the subject is ‘horse’ and the verb is ‘galloped ’.There is no object after the verband it makes ‘galloped’ an intransitive verb.

16. He writes neatly.

Here the verb ‘writes’ does not need an object to convey the meaning .That means it is an intransitive verb. ’Neatly’ is an adverb describing the action of writing. It is not the object.

17. Hunters hunt.

Here the verb is ‘hunt’ and the subject is ‘hunters’.The sentence does not have an  object because it does not answer the questions ‘what’ or whom’.The verb ‘hunt’ completes the action without an object. Therefore ‘hunt’ is an intransitive verb here.

18. The girl went to the mall.

Went whom = no answer. Went what= no answer. So there is no object to the verb ‘ went’ .So ‘went’ is an intransitive verb here.

19.  Sprinters run daily.

Here ‘run’ is the verb. But there is no object after the verb. Therefore ‘run’ is an intransitive verb. ’Daily’ works as an adverb, not an object to the verb.

20. Garry fought fearlessly.

The verb here is  ‘fought’ .But there is no direct or indirect object after the verb. Therefore we can say that the verb ‘fought’ is used as an intransitive verb.

21. Ann laughed.

‘Ann’ is the subject here. The verb used here is ‘laughed’.It does not have an object.That means ‘laughed’ is an intransitive verb.

22. Danny fled.

Here the subject is ‘Danny ‘and the verb is’ fled’ .There is no direct object in the sentence. So the verb ‘fled’ is an intransitive verb. ‘Subject intransitive verb’ is the sentence pattern here.

23. He arrived at the airport.

Here there is no object to the verb ‘arrived’. Therefore ’arrived’ is an intransitive verb. ‘Arrive’ is always an intransitive verb. ‘At the airport’ is a prepositional phrase and not the object to the verb ‘arrive’.

24. Ram sleeps peacefully.

Here the subject is Ram and the verb is ‘sleeps’. There is no object and the meaning is conveyed clearly without an object. Therefore ‘sleeps’ works as an intransitive verb .The sentence pattern used here is ’subject intransitive verb’ pattern .It is to note that ‘peacefully’ is an adverb here.  It is not an object to the verb’ sleeps’.

25. The sun rose.

There is no object here. The subject is ‘sun’ and the verb is ‘rose’. Even without an object the meaning is clear. Since there is no object after the verb ‘rose’ ,it is an intransitive verb.

26. He spoke clearly.

Here the subject we used is a pronoun ‘he’and the verb is ‘spoke’.We cannot see any direct or indirect object after the verb.Therefore ‘spoke’ is an intransitive verb.’Clearly’ acts as an adverb here.

27. Radha sang for hours.

Here the subject is ‘Radha’.The verb is ‘sang’. It does not answer’ what song did Radha sing?’ .So there is no object here. The verb ‘sang’ conveyed the meaning without an object. So the verb ‘sang’ is an intransitive verb.

28. The dog never bites.

There is no object here. We  have only a subject and a verb.  The verb here is’ bites’ and it is an intransitive verb.

29. Sam is playing in the backyard.

There is no answer for ‘what does Sam play?’ or’ with whom does Sam  play?’. Since there is no answer to those questions, there is no direct object .Therefore ‘playing’ is an intransitive verb here .’In the backyard’ is a prepositional phrase. It is not a direct object.

30. The thief ran fast.

The subject here is ‘the thief’. The verb is ‘ran’ .But an object to the verb is lacking. ’Slowly’ is an adverb here which describes the action ‘ran’. Since the word ‘ran’ does not need an object it is an intransitive verb.

 31. The door opened suddenly.

Here there is no direct object after the verb ‘opened’. Therefore   it is used as an intransitive verb. ’Suddenly’ is used as an adverb here. It is not the object  to the verb .

Intransitive verbs use–

Intransitive verbs are used when an object cannot follow a verb in a sentence.