Collins Cobuild

particle. You cannot say ‘He cleaned up it’.
7
 In  the  fourth  structure,  the  verb  is  followed  by  a  particle  and  a
preposition with an object.
break out of
catch up with
come down with
get on with
go down with
keep on at
look forward to
make off with
miss out on
play around with
put up with
run away with
stick up for
talk down to
walk out on
You go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.
Children have to learn to stick up for themselves.
8
A very few verbs are used in the structure: verb followed by an object,

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a particle, and a preposition with its object.
do out of
let in for
put down to
put up to take out on
talk out of
I’ll take you up on that generous invitation.
Kroop tried to talk her out of it.

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Unit 51
Verbs and objects
Main points
Intransitive verbs do not have an object.
Transitive verbs have an object.
Some verbs can be used with or without an object, depending on
the situation or their meaning.
1
 Many  verbs  do  not  normally  have  an  object.  They  are  called
‘intransitive’ verbs. They often refer to:
existence: appear die disappear happen
live remain
the human
body:
ache bleed blush faint shiver
smile
human
noises:
cough cry laugh scream snore
speak yawn
light,
smell,
vibration:
glow shine sparkle stink throb
vibrate
position, arrive come depart fall flow go

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movement: kneel run sit sleep stand swim
wait walk work
An awful thing has happened.
The girl screamed.
I waited.
Note that intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive.
2
Many verbs normally have an object. These verbs are called ‘transitive’
verbs. They are often connected with:
physical
objects:
build buy carry catch cover cut
destroy hit own remove sell use
waste wear
senses: feel hear see smell taste touch
feelings: admire enjoy fear frighten hate
like love need prefer
surprise
trust
want
facts,
ideas:
accept believe correct discuss
expect express forget include
know mean remember report
people: address blame comfort contact
convince defy kill persuade please
tease thank warn
He hit the ball really hard.

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Did you see the rainbow?
They both enjoyed the film.
She reported the accident to the police.
Don’t blame me.
Note that transitive verbs can be used in the passive.
They were blamed for everything.
 WARNING:  ‘Have’  is  a  transitive  verb,  but  cannot  be  used  in  the
passive. You can say ‘I have a car’ but not ‘A car is had by me’.
3
Often, the people you are talking to know what the object is because
of the situation, or because it has already been mentioned. In this case
you can omit the object, even though the verb is transitive.
accept
answer change
choose
clean
cook
draw
drive
eat
explain forget
help
iron
know
learn
leave
paint
park
phone
read
remember ride
sing
steal
study
type
understand wash
watch
write
I don’t own a car. I can’t drive.
You don’t smoke, do you?
I asked a question and George answered.
Both dresses are beautiful. It’s difficult to choose.
4
 Many  verbs  have  more  than  one  meaning,  and  are  transitive  in  one
meaning and intransitive in another meaning. For example, the verb

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‘run’  is  intransitive  when  you  use  it  to  mean  ‘move  quickly’  but
transitive when you use it to mean ‘manage or operate’.
call fit lose
manage miss move
play run show spread
The hare runs at enormous speed.
She runs a hotel.
She moved gracefully.
The whole incident had moved her profoundly.
5
A few verbs are normally intransitive, but can be used with an object
that is closely related to the verb.
dance
(a
dance)
die (a
death)
dream (a
dream)
laugh (a
laugh)
live
(a
life)
sigh
(a
sigh)
smile
(a
smile)
Steve smiled his thin, cruel smile.
He appears to have lived the life of any other rich gentleman.
I once dreamed a very nice dream.

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