Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs Transitive VerbsTransitive verb has an object that can be direct (verb + noun) or indirect (verb + preposition + noun). Manger quelque chose - eat somethingDire quelque chose - say somethingSome transitive verbs can be used without an object (je mange) while others need the object to be complete (je donne).Intransitive VerbsDo not take an object.Aller - you cannot aller quelque chose.Some verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive:Fermer (to close)Perdre (to lose)Sortir (to go out)Monter (to climb up)Descendre (to come down)Passer (to pass, to stop at)Descendre, monter, passer, rentrer (go back home), and sortir take être when intransitive and avoir when transitive.Intransitive (verb in bold)Cette porte ne ferme pas. This door does not close.Il a joué et ill a perdu. He played and he lost.Nous allons sortir samedi. We're going to go out Saturday.Ëtre and verb in bold for verbs that take être when intransitive.Elle est passée à la boulangerie. She went by the bakery.Nous sommes descendus dans un hôtel trois étoiles. We stayed in a three-star hotel.Transitive (object in bold)Ferme la porte. Close the door.Elle a perdu ses clés. She lost her keys.N'oublie pas de sortir la poubelle. Don't forget to take the garbage out.Avoir and object in bold for verbs that take avoir when transitive.Ils ont passé un bon week-end. They had/spent a good weekend.As-tu descendu ta valise? Did you bring your suitcase down?Verbs followed by a prepositionDifference between verb + infinitve and verb + noun.A verb that takes a preposition before an infinitive may not require one before a noun.Examples (preposition + infinitive or noun in bold)Chercher - Il cherche à s'enfuir. He's trying to escape.Il cherche la sortie. He is looking for the exit.Choisir -Il a choisi de prendre ses vacances en mai. He chose to take his vacation in May.Nous avons choisi notre déssert. We have chosen our dessert.Vocabulary is essential. In English some verbs are not separable from their preposition without changing meaning (to knock down, to break up). French verbs have different translations in cases like this (casser-to break, rompre-to break up). Translating the verb without the preposition then adding the preposition is incorrect in these cases."Empty prepositions"Prepositions between a conjugated verb that don't have a specific meaning: à and de (do not mean at or to or from in these cases).Verbs never followed by a prepositionModal Verbs (vouloir, devoir, pouvoir)(verb + infinitive in bold)Il veut réussir. He wants to succeed. Ils doivent se lever tôt. They must get up early Tu ne peux pas sortir. You can't go out. Common verbs followed directly by the infinitive. faire (to do) laisser (to let) vouloir (to want) aimer (to like/love) détester (to hate) espérer (to hope) savoir (to know) falloir (to be necessary-impersonal) valoir mieux (to be better - impersonal) faillir (to almost do) oser (to dare) paraître (to seem) sembler (to seem) Examples (verb and infinitive in bold) Vous semblez hésiter. You seem to hesitate. La police l'a laissé passer. The police let him pass. Il a failli tomber de sa chaise. He almost fell off his chair. Verbs followed by the infinitive that express movement aller - to go (including as used in the immediate future) descendre - to go down(stairs) monter - to go up(stairs) partir - to leave to sortir - to go out to venir - to come to Examples (verb and infinitive in bold Sortons dîner au restaurant ce soir. Let's go out to eat tonight. Il est parti faire du jogging. He left to go jogging. Venir de expresses recent past: to have just done something. Not to be confused with the regular use of venir: to come.Verbs of perception such as regarder and entendre followed by the infinitive J'ai senti mes jambes faiblir. I felt my legs weaken. Nous écoutons les oiseaux chanter. We listen to the birds sing. Verbs + the preposition àCommon French verbs that require the preposition à apprendre à - to learn to arriver à - to learn to avoir à - must, to have to avoir du mal à - to have difficulties in chercher à - to try to commencer à - to begin to continuer à - to continue to hésiter à - to hesitate to parvenir à - to manage to passer son temps à - to devote oneself to réussir à - to succeed in se consacrer à - to devote oneself to s'exercer à - to practice (-ing) s'habituer à - to get used to se mettre à - to start to, to begin to se résigner à - to give in to servir à - to be used to tenir à - to insist on Examples (verb + preposition + infinitive in bold) Il s'habituera à vivre seul. He will get used to living alone. J'apprends à skier. I am learning to ski. Elle passe so temps à regarder la télé. She spends all her time watching television. Verbs + the preposition de accepter de - to agree to arrêter de - to stop (-ing) cesser de - to stop (-ing) choisir de - to choose to craindre de - to fear to décider de - to decide to essayer de - to try to finir de - to stop (-ing) mériter de - to deserve to oublier de - to forget to parler de - to talk about (-ing) proposer de - to offer to refuser de - to refuse to regretter de (+ past infinitive) - to regret/to be sorry (to have done) risquer de - to risk (-ing) s'abstenir de - to refrain from (-ing) se charger de - to take on, accept (-ing) se dépêcher de - to hurry to se souvenir de - to remember to s'excuser de - to apologize for (-ing); to excuse one for (-ing) suffire de (impersonal) - to suffice to, to be enough to Examples (verb + preposition + infinitive in bold) Il méritait de recevoir le premier prix. He deserved to receive the first prize. Cesse de te plaindre. Stop complaining. Il a choisi d'apprendre le français. He chose to learn French. Il risque de pleuvoir; prends ton parapluie. It may rain; take your umbrella. Sequence of verbs with and without infinitivesIn a sentence with the linking words quand, si, or parce que, each verb has a subject expressed, even if it is the same for all verbs in the sentence.Examples (verbs in bold) Je viendrai quand je serai prête. I will come when I am ready. Elle le fera si son père est d'accord. She will do it if her father agrees. When several verbs follow each other without si, quand, parce que, etc. only the first verb is conjugated and the following verbs must remain in the infinitive. Some verbs require an "empty preposition" before an infinitive.Examples (verbs in bold) Elle voudrait inviter ses amis. She would like to invite her friends. Leur fils semble grandir rapidement. Their son seems to grow up quickly. J'oublie toujours de prendre un parapluie. I always forget to take an umbrella. Nous hésitons à acheter une nouvelle voiture. We hesitate to buy a new car. Verbs of perceptionWith verbs of perception (regarder, entendre, etc.) even though each verb has its own subject, subsequent verbs must remain in the infinitive.Elle regarde le bébé dormir. She watches the baby sleep.Elle is the subject of regarde, but le bébé is the subject of dormir.If the main verb is in a compound tense with avoir, the past participle agrees with the direct object of the main verb: for feminine use la and for masculine and plural direct object pronouns use les. Tu as entendu les enfants? Je les ai entendus rire. Did you hear the kids? I heard them laugh. Vous avez vu la lune se lever? Oui, je l'ai vue se lever. Six common verbs of perception in French apercevoir - to see (from a distance) Past participle - aperçu écouter - to listen to Past participle - écouté entendre - to hear Past participle - entendu regarder - to look at Past participle - regardé sentir - to feel Past participle - senti voir - to see Past participle - vu A construction with the relative pronoun qui + conjugated verb can be used instead of the infinitive after a verb of perception. Slight difference in mean when this construction is used. Denotes complete simultaneity. Infinitive construction does not necessarily indicate this which makes it more versatile.Examples (verbs + qui in bold) Vous avez vu la lune qui se levait. You saw the moon (that was) rising. Tu as entendu les enfants qui riaient. You heard the kids (who were) laughing. Elle regarde le bébé qui dort. She watches the baby (who is) sleeping.