TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS — MCQs for Competitive Examinations

(Based on Wren & Martin's English Grammar)

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Average Standard

1. Identify the transitive verb in the following sentence: "The farmer ploughs his field every morning before sunrise."

• A) farmer
• B) ploughs
• C) morning
• D) sunrise

2. Identify the intransitive verb in the following sentence: "The baby slept peacefully in the cradle throughout the night."

• A) baby
• B) cradle
• C) slept
• D) peacefully

3. Choose the sentence that contains a transitive verb:

• A) The birds sang sweetly in the garden.
• B) The child laughed loudly in the classroom.
• C) The teacher praised the student for his performance.
• D) The old man walked slowly along the road.

4. Choose the sentence that contains an intransitive verb:

• A) She wrote a long letter to her friend.
• B) He kicked the ball over the fence.
• C) The sun rose majestically over the hills.
• D) The dog chased the cat around the garden.

5. The verb "run" is used as a transitive verb in which of the following sentences?

• A) The children run in the park every evening.
• B) He runs very fast during the race.
• C) She runs a successful business in the city.
• D) They ran along the riverside in the morning.

6. Identify the error in the following sentence: "She explained me the entire procedure of filling the application form."

• A) She explained
• B) me the entire
• C) procedure of filling
• D) the application form
• E) No error

7. Which of the following verbs is always intransitive and can never take a direct object?

• A) write
• B) send
• C) die
• D) bring

8. The verb "rang" in the sentence "The bell rang loudly at exactly eight o'clock" is —

• A) Transitive — because it has an adverb
• B) Intransitive — because it has no direct object
• C) Transitive — because it refers to a bell
• D) Intransitive — because it is in the past tense

9. Choose the correct sentence:

• A) She reached to the station before the train departed.
• B) She reached at the station before the train departed.
• C) She reached the station before the train departed.
• D) She reached towards the station before the train departed.

10. Identify the sentence in which the verb is used both transitively and intransitively:

• A) He wrote a letter to his friend yesterday evening.
• B) The wind blew fiercely during the storm last night.
• C) She opened the door and the breeze entered the room.
• D) The cock crows every morning at the break of dawn.

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Answers

1. B) ploughs "Ploughs" is a transitive verb because it has a direct object — "his field" — which receives the action of the verb. Wren & Martin states that a transitive verb is one that requires a direct object to complete its meaning in a sentence.

2. C) slept "Slept" is an intransitive verb because it does not require a direct object to complete its meaning — the sentence is complete without one. Wren & Martin states that an intransitive verb expresses an action that does not pass over to an object — "the baby slept" is complete in itself.

3. C) The teacher praised the student for his performance. "Praised" is a transitive verb with "the student" as its direct object — the action of praising passes directly to the student. Wren & Martin states that in options A, B, and D — "sang," "laughed," and "walked" are intransitive verbs that do not pass their action to any object.

4. C) The sun rose majestically over the hills. "Rose" is an intransitive verb because it does not take a direct object — the sentence is complete without one. Wren & Martin states that verbs like "rise," "go," "come," and "sleep" are typically intransitive as their action does not pass to any object.

5. C) She runs a successful business in the city. Here "runs" is used transitively with "a successful business" as its direct object — the action passes to the object. Wren & Martin states that many verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively depending on whether they have a direct object in the sentence.

6. B) me the entire "Explain" is a transitive verb that does not take an indirect object directly — it requires the preposition "to" before the indirect object. Wren & Martin lists "explain" among verbs that must use "to" before the indirect object. Correct sentence: "She explained the entire procedure of filling the application form to me."

7. C) die "Die" is always an intransitive verb and can never take a direct object — one cannot "die something." Wren & Martin clearly classifies certain verbs like "die," "sleep," "rise," and "fall" as purely intransitive verbs that never pass their action to a direct object.

8. B) Intransitive — because it has no direct object "Rang" is an intransitive verb because it has no direct object receiving the action — "loudly" is an adverb, not an object. Wren & Martin states that the presence of an adverb or adverbial phrase does not make a verb transitive — only a direct object can do that.

9. C) She reached the station before the train departed. "Reach" is a transitive verb that directly takes an object without any preposition. Wren & Martin lists "reach" among transitive verbs that must not be followed by prepositions like "to," "at," or "towards" — "reached the station" is the correct standard usage.

10. C) She opened the door and the breeze entered the room. "Opened" is used transitively — "the door" is its direct object. "Entered" is used transitively — "the room" is its direct object. Wren & Martin states that many verbs like "open," "enter," "move," and "stop" can function both as transitive and intransitive verbs depending on context — this sentence illustrates both uses together.