1. A very important point they don’t
teach enough about!

2. A transitive verb has an object:
Give the book to your
neighbor.

3. An intransitive verb has no
object:
It’s rude to laugh at people

4. Some verbs are always transitive:
Give
Take
Put
Buy
Say

5. Some verbs are always
intransitive:
Laugh
Sleep
Live
Die
Talk
Listen

6. Some verbs can be transitive or
intransitive, depending on the
sentence:
I’m studying English (transitive).
I don’t have time to study.
(intransitive)

7. **Talk English
We say “speak English,” not “talk
English” because talk is an intransitive
verb and it doesn’t have an object.

8. You can say:
The baby is learning to talk.
She’s talking too loud.
I need to talk to the boss.
(A prepositional phrase is not an object
for the verb.)

9. “Speak” can be transitive or
intransitive.
I can speak Chinese (transitive).
Please don’t speak to me
(intransitive).

10. speak (intransitive) = talk
Speak to me = Talk to me
Don’t speak so loud = Don’t talk so
loud.

11. However, if there is an object, you
have to use “speak” and not “talk”
because can only be intransitive
and speak can be transitive:
I’m learning to speak English.
I can’t speak Chinese.