What are Transitive Verbs, Intransitive Verbs, and Linking Verbs?
First of all, if you’re scared of the terms transitive, intransitive, and linking, don’t worry. They’re really not as bad as they sound. I remember hearing these words in junior high school and high school and not really understanding what they mean. But some of these concepts are important for GMAT sentence correction and for the TOEFL. First, look at some examples, and see if you can tell the difference already:My sister broke the glass. (broke is a transitive verb)My father cried. (cried is an intransitive verb)My sister is a doctor. (is is a linking verb) Can you figure out the difference between the verbs (broke, cried, is) in the above sentences? I’m not talking about the meaning, I’m talking about the grammar. In other words, how are these three verbs grammatically different? We should notice that the first verb, broke, has another word after it (glass). The second verb, cried, does not have another word after it. So in one sense, we can say that all verbs in English can be divi
