{"id":14422,"date":"2017-06-30T12:45:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T10:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=14422"},"modified":"2017-07-01T21:16:02","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T19:16:02","slug":"italian-transitive-and-intransitive-verbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/italian-transitive-and-intransitive-verbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian Transitive And Intransitive Verbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is it so important to understand the difference between verbi transitivi<\/strong> (transitive verbs) and verbi intransitivi <\/strong>(intransitive verbs)? Read on to find out …<\/span><\/p>\n

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Siamo rimasti a Verona per due giorni. Photo by Geoff.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

What are Transitive and Intransitive verbs? <\/span><\/p>\n

Transitive:<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe word transitive comes from the Latin transire<\/em> meaning \u2018to pass\u2019, \u2018to cross\u2019, \u2018to go beyond\u2019, therefore it describes actions<\/em> that move from the subject or doer directly<\/em> to the object, without making use of prepositions such as di<\/strong>, da<\/strong>, per<\/strong>, a<\/strong> etc.
\nExamples:<\/em>
\nThe classic example that we learn at school is: io mangio<\/span> la mela<\/strong> (I eat the apple); in this sentence io<\/strong> is the subject<\/em> of the verb, mangio<\/strong> <\/span>is the transitive verb<\/em>, and la mela<\/strong> is the direct object<\/em>.<\/em>
\nIt’s not always necessary to express the direct object, for example:\u00a0la sera mangio<\/span> presto<\/strong> (in the evening I eat early). Here, the direct object would be \u2018dinner\u2019, \u2018meal\u2019, or \u2018food\u2019, but it is implicit rather than expressed.
\nAnother example would be: Giovanni guida<\/span> la macchina per andare a lavorare<\/strong> (Giovanni drives his car to go to work). Here, guidare<\/strong> is a transitive verb because it is followed by the direct object, la macchina<\/strong>.\u00a0However I could also omit \u2018la macchina<\/strong>\u2019 and simply say Giovanni guida<\/span> per andare a lavorare<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Intransitive:<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhen using intransitive verbs, the action does not move directly<\/em> from the subject to the object but makes use of a preposition<\/span> <\/em>such as di<\/strong><\/span>, da<\/strong><\/span>, in, a<\/strong> <\/span>etc.
\nSome important intransitive verbs are those which don\u2019t express an action but rather a state<\/em> or a\u00a0condition,<\/em> such as essere <\/strong>(to be), stare <\/strong>(to stay), divenire <\/strong>(to become), or movement<\/em> such as andare <\/strong>(to go), venire <\/strong>(to come), arrivare <\/strong>(to arrive), etc. When using these verbs we frequently add information, such as \u2018where\u2019, \u2018when\u2019, \u2018how\u2019, \u2018for how long\u2019, and so on.
\nExamples:<\/em>
\n<\/span>il treno \u00e8 arrivato<\/span> in<\/span> stazione <\/strong>(the train arrived at the station). <\/span>Here, il treno<\/strong> is the subject<\/em>, \u00e8 arrivato<\/strong> is the intransitive verb<\/em>, in<\/strong> stazione <\/strong>is the indirect object <\/em>introduced by the preposition in<\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/span>sto<\/span> in<\/span> ufficio tutto il pomeriggio<\/strong> (I\u2019ll be in the office all afternoon)
\nGiovanni va<\/span> al<\/span> lavoro in macchina<\/strong> (Giovanni goes to work by car)<\/p>\n

Italian and English, Different Rules<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

A common cause of confusion is that verbs\u00a0which are transitive in Italian are sometimes intransitive in English and vice versa.
\nTake the transitive verb ascoltare<\/strong> (to listen) for example: in Italian we say ascoltare una canzone<\/strong> (literally<\/em>: to listen a song, without the proposition ‘to’). In English, however, we say \u2018to listen to<\/em> a song\u2019, making the verb ‘to listen’ intransitive.
\nA good bilingual dictionary should help you to identify whether verbs are transitive or intransitive. When looking up a verb in your dictionary you should find that it is followed by either vt<\/strong> (also v.tr<\/strong>) which is short for verbo transitivo<\/strong>, or vi<\/strong> (also v.intr<\/strong>) short for\u00a0verbo intransitivo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Importance of Understanding the Difference between Transitive and Intransitive <\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing the difference between transitive and intransitive verbs will help you to\u00a0understand which auxiliary verb<\/span><\/a><\/strong> to use in the past tense: essere<\/strong> or avere<\/strong>?<\/p>\n