Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Introduction

This lesson covers transitive and intransitive verbs. The transitive and intransitive forms of some verbs in English are slightly different, which can cause confusion as to which is the correct one to use. In this lesson you'll learn how to use the verbs sit, set, lie, lay, rise and raise correctly.

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

The subject of a sentence is the noun or pronoun that performs the action in the sentence. Some sentences also have an object. This is the noun or pronoun that is impacted by the action in the sentence.

Some verbs require an object to make a complete sentence. Verbs that have an object are called transitive verbs. In the sentence I wash the dishes, I is the subject of the sentence and the dishes is the object of the sentence. Since the dishes is the object of the verb wash, wash is a transitive verb. One way to remember this is that transitive verbs take an object.

Verbs that do not require an object to make a complete sentence are called intransitive verbs. In the sentence I sleep., sleep is an intransitive verb.

Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, but other verbs are only transitive or intransitive. The next few sections will go over some verbs that have different forms when they are used as transitive and intransitive verbs.

Sit and Set

Sit is an intransitive verb and means "be seated" or "be situated," for example:

The cabin sits beside the beach.	Die Hütte liegt direkt am Strand.
He sat down on the blanket.	Er setzte sich auf die Decke.
I have sat at that table before.	Ich habe schon einmal an diesem Tisch gesessen.

Sit

The verb sit is irregular.

Present participle: sitting

Past Participle: sat

Present Tense	Past Tense
I sit	I sat
he sits	he sat
she sits	she sat
it sits	it sat
we sit	we sat
you sit	you sat
they sit	they sat

Set

The verb set means to cause to sit. For example:

She set the cup on the table.	Sie stellte die Tasse auf den Tisch.
I already set the table.	Ich habe den Tisch bereits gedeckt.
I have set the table many times before.	Ich habe den Tisch schon viele Male gedeckt.

The verb set is also irregular.

Present participle: setting

Past Participle: set

Present Tense	Past Tense
I set	I set
he sets	he set
she sets	she set
it sets	it set
we set	we set
you set	you set
they set	they set

Lie and Lay

Lie

The verb lie is actually two different verbs, which used to be pronounced differently. Over time the pronunciation changed so that they now sound the same in the present tense. One version means "tell a fib", the other means "recline", "spread out", or "be placed".

Lie meaning to tell a fib is a regular verb, except for the present participle.

Present participle: lying

Past Participle: lied

Present Tense	Past Tense
I lie	I lied
he lies	he lied
she lies	she lied
it lies	it lied
we lie	we lied
you lie	you lied
they lie	they lied

The verb lie meaning to recline is irregular.

Present participle: lying

Past Participle: lain

Present Tense	Past Tense
I lie	I lay
he lies	he lay
she lies	she lay
it lies	it lay
we lie	we lay
you lie	you lay
they lie	they lay

Some examples of the verb lie are:

He lied to me.	Er hat mich angelogen.
They have lied too many times.	Sie haben zu oft gelogen.
Lie down on the sofa.	Legen Sie sich auf das Sofa.
She lay on the beach yesterday afternoon.	Sie lag gestern Nachmittag am Strand.
She got a sunburn from lying on the beach for an hour.	Sie hat sich einen Sonnenbrand geholt, weil sie eine Stunde lang am Strand lag.
She lies on the beach every Monday morning.	Jeden Montagmorgen liegt sie am Strand.
We have lain on that beach so many times this summer.	Wir haben in diesem Sommer schon so oft an diesem Strand gelegen.

Lay

The verb lay means "to cause to lie". The past tense of lie and the present tense of lay are the same which can cause confusion.

Present participle: laying

Past Participle: laid

Present Tense	Past Tense
I lay	I laid
he lays	he laid
she lays	she laid
it lays	it laid
we lay	we laid
you lay	you laid
they lay	they laid

The following are some examples of the verb lay:

Lay the book on the desk.	Legen Sie das Buch auf den Schreibtisch.
He laid the money on the table and walked away.	Er legte das Geld auf den Tisch und ging weg.
She laid the newspapers all over the table.	Sie legte die Zeitungen auf dem Tisch aus.

Rise and Raise

Rise

The verb rise means "go up" or "stand up". Rise is an irregular verb.

Present participle: rising

Past Participle: risen

Present Tense	Past Tense
I rise	I rose
she rises	she rose
he rises	he rose
it rises	it rose
we rise	we rose
you rise	you rose
they rise	they rose

The following are some examples of the verb rise:

Rise up.	Erheben Sie sich.
Hot air rises.	Heiße Luft steigt auf.
The balloon slowly rose up into the air.	Der Ballon erhob sich langsam in die Luft.

Raise

the verb raise means to cause to rise. It can also mean to bring up children or other animals.

Present participle: raising

Past Participle: raised

Present Tense	Past Tense
I raise	I raised
she raises	she raised
he raises	he raised
it raises	it raised
we raise	we raised
you raise	you raised
they raise	they raised

The following are some examples of the verb raise:

He raised the volume of the stereo.	Er erhöhte die Lautstärke der Stereoanlage.
She raises the cup off of the table.	Sie hebt die Tasse vom Tisch.