At first I wondered why that last sentence was with those examples when in fact the topic is transitive verb and its object. But then, the teacher intelligently pronounced the flexibility of verbs in the english language; otherwise, I might have reacted violently over this video... hehe... lol I suggest that you upload some more videos similar to this one. this is truly a good help for many.
What if I use "be" as a verbal? For example: I love being me. If "be" is not a transitive verb, then should I change the sentence into: I love being I. since "I" is a complement? Or both are wrong and should be written as: I love being myself. Please respond again :) thanks for your kindness.
@cGZynex Linking verbs (or copulative verbs) are a subset of intransitive verbs. (When you look up a copulative verb in the dictionary, the dictionary calls it intransitive, as I do here.)
@mrthoth Thanks for the answer....often I have to watch your video more than once, because you have a great sense of humor and that makes me laugh.... e.g: What is tasted?? Lousy...that's what..... Sandor thinking....what Sandor doing....Thinking...Sandor thinking...that is not English.... Congratulations.....Yuri from Brazil
Your questions are not only bad English, they are also quite unrelated to the original sentences, and that's why they seem weird and are not very helpful in determining the direct object. Your example with covering the mouth was very good, so why don't you base your questions on that? We usually make questions by replacing some constituent part of a sentence by an interrogative pronoun and changing its form to be more like a question. I would rather ask questions such as: "What did I hit?" → "the board" "What do I have?" → "a cold" "What/who am I?" → "a Welshman" "How does the soup taste"? → "lousy" and this way they would all be correct English questions about the thing after the verb, but then they wouldn't be much helpful in determining whether that something is a direct object or not :q Fortunately, there's a better test for that: just turn the sentence around to put it into passive voice. For example: "(The board) was hit by me." "(A cold) is being had by me." and you can't do that with the other two, because they don't have any direct object. This is a pretty good test, because the direct object directly becomes the subject of the new (passive) sentence. But if you just want to check whether a verb is transitive or not, try using it with some direct object. If you can't, it's intransitive. For example: can you "go" something? Or can you "sleep" something? No, you can't. Therefore, they're intransitive.
No form of "be" can ever have a direct object. However, some expressions are considered idiomatic even though they disobey the rules. For example, "Woe is I" is grammatically correct, for reasons you have pointed to, but no one says it that way. Similarly, "I enjoy being I" is technically correct, but would strike competent speakers as wrong. So just keep saying, "I enjoy being me," and "Woe is me."
The question for sentence 2 should have been "What do I have?" instead of "What is had." The question for sentence 3 should have been "What am I?" instead of "What is been?" The fourth sentence is not a transitive verb but a linking verb because the verb taste is followed by an adjective which means the pattern for this sentence is Subject-Linking Verb-Complement or SLVC pattern.
@yuriamancio Thanks for your question! Some sentences have no direct objects. Some sentences have no indirect objects. The sentence in the video is "The soup tastes lousy." There is no direct object in the sentence. "Soup" is the subject, and "lousy" is something called a subjective complement. You can learn about this kind of sentence in the next video, "Copulative Verbs and Subjective Complements."
![[English Grammar] Transitive Verbs and Direct Objects](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XwUw3CdaklU/mqdefault.jpg)
At first I wondered why that last sentence was with those examples when in fact the topic is transitive verb and its object. But then, the teacher intelligently pronounced the flexibility of verbs in the english language; otherwise, I might have reacted violently over this video... hehe... lol
I suggest that you upload some more videos similar to this one. this is truly a good help for many.
Your videos are really clear, helpful and funny. Thank You.
Thanks, you really helped me with my homework. I never knew what transitive and intransitive meant. :D
Thanks so much! I'm in a Pre-AP English class but grammar is my worst subject. After watching your videos I feel more comfortable with it.
What if I use "be" as a verbal?
For example:
I love being me.
If "be" is not a transitive verb, then should I change the sentence into:
I love being I.
since "I" is a complement?
Or both are wrong and should be written as:
I love being myself.
Please respond again :) thanks for your kindness.
@cGZynex Linking verbs (or copulative verbs) are a subset of intransitive verbs. (When you look up a copulative verb in the dictionary, the dictionary calls it intransitive, as I do here.)
thank you so much i got a 100% because of you. i am really glad i found you on youtube.
so, the soup is the object of the verb taste, then what is the indirect object? soup or lousy??
thanks
Can verb 'be' be a transitive verb?
For example:
Be a friend of mine.
Is 'a friend of mine' an object or a complement?
It is a subjective complement. (The subject of the imperative "be" is an assumed "you".)
@mrthoth Thanks for the answer....often I have to watch your video more than once, because you have a great sense of humor and that makes me laugh....
e.g: What is tasted?? Lousy...that's what.....
Sandor thinking....what Sandor doing....Thinking...Sandor thinking...that is not English....
Congratulations.....Yuri from Brazil
Can you please tell me if "go" (went/gone) is treated as a transitive verb?
Can you go _something_ ? If you can't, then it is _not_ a transitive verb. It's that simple.
Your questions are not only bad English, they are also quite unrelated to the original sentences, and that's why they seem weird and are not very helpful in determining the direct object. Your example with covering the mouth was very good, so why don't you base your questions on that? We usually make questions by replacing some constituent part of a sentence by an interrogative pronoun and changing its form to be more like a question. I would rather ask questions such as:
"What did I hit?" → "the board"
"What do I have?" → "a cold"
"What/who am I?" → "a Welshman"
"How does the soup taste"? → "lousy"
and this way they would all be correct English questions about the thing after the verb, but then they wouldn't be much helpful in determining whether that something is a direct object or not :q
Fortunately, there's a better test for that: just turn the sentence around to put it into passive voice. For example:
"(The board) was hit by me."
"(A cold) is being had by me."
and you can't do that with the other two, because they don't have any direct object. This is a pretty good test, because the direct object directly becomes the subject of the new (passive) sentence.
But if you just want to check whether a verb is transitive or not, try using it with some direct object. If you can't, it's intransitive. For example: can you "go" something? Or can you "sleep" something? No, you can't. Therefore, they're intransitive.
This is good to learn
Thank you for creating this Video
No form of "be" can ever have a direct object. However, some expressions are considered idiomatic even though they disobey the rules. For example, "Woe is I" is grammatically correct, for reasons you have pointed to, but no one says it that way. Similarly, "I enjoy being I" is technically correct, but would strike competent speakers as wrong. So just keep saying, "I enjoy being me," and "Woe is me."
So what is the direct object in "Woe is I"?
The question for sentence 2 should have been "What do I have?" instead of "What is had." The question for sentence 3 should have been "What am I?" instead of "What is been?" The fourth sentence is not a transitive verb but a linking verb because the verb taste is followed by an adjective which means the pattern for this sentence is Subject-Linking Verb-Complement or SLVC pattern.
Thank you! I'm so glad I found you on youtube :-)
@yuriamancio Thanks for your question! Some sentences have no direct objects. Some sentences have no indirect objects. The sentence in the video is "The soup tastes lousy." There is no direct object in the sentence. "Soup" is the subject, and "lousy" is something called a subjective complement. You can learn about this kind of sentence in the next video, "Copulative Verbs and Subjective Complements."
great video, it helps a lot.
You so good i need complete lesson how can i get it
thanks! great videos.
thanks for the explanation
This teacher is now a taxi driver in Rochester.
Thanks. My sixth grade teacher explained this horribly. You did a much better job.
thx so much
this sucks