Transitive and Intransitive Verbs worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s go through each sentence one by one. We need to decide if the verb is transitive or intransitive.

👉 Remember:
- A transitive verb needs a direct object — something that receives the action.
Example: “I kicked *the ball*.” → “the ball” is what got kicked.
- An intransitive verb does NOT have a direct object. The action doesn’t pass to anything.
Example: “She sleeps.” → No one or nothing is being slept on.

Now let’s check each sentence:

1. I opened the door for my mom.
→ “opened” what? → “the door” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

2. I never sleep in class.
→ “sleep” what? → Nothing! You don’t sleep “something”. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

3. Sally runs fast.
→ “runs” what? → Nothing. She just runs. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

4. I bought some books.
→ “bought” what? → “some books” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

5. She sold flowers at the market.
→ “sold” what? → “flowers” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

6. He played the trumpet.
→ “played” what? → “the trumpet” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

7. She writes letters to her friends.
→ “writes” what? → “letters” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

8. John studies in the morning.
→ “studies” what? → Nothing specified. Just studying. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

9. The museum has many famous paintings.
→ “has” what? → “many famous paintings” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

10. My dog barks a lot.
→ “barks” what? → Nothing. Dogs bark, but not “something”. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

11. When we arrived, nobody was there to greet us.
→ “arrived” what? → Nothing. Arriving doesn’t take an object. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

12. I bought a bicycle yesterday.
→ “bought” what? → “a bicycle” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

13. She reads books to help her fall asleep.
→ “reads” what? → “books” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

14. Jim is studying so don’t make any noise.
→ “studying” what? → Not stated. He’s just studying. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

15. She wrote an essay about her trip to France.
→ “wrote” what? → “an essay” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

16. She sat down to wait for her friends.
→ “sat” what? → Nothing. Sitting doesn’t take an object. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

17. The children kicked the ball around.
→ “kicked” what? → “the ball” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

18. My father turned off the light and went to sleep.
→ First part: “turned off” what? → “the light” → ✔ TRANSITIVE (for “turned off”)
But note: “went to sleep” is intransitive — but the question is about the main verb in the sentence. Since “turned off” is transitive and it’s the first verb, we’ll mark this as TRANSITIVE.
Wait — actually, the sentence has two verbs: “turned off” and “went”. But usually, we look at the main action. However, since “turned off” clearly takes an object (“the light”), and it’s part of the same subject’s action, we can consider the whole sentence focused on a transitive verb.
BUT — let’s be precise. The instruction is to classify the verb in the sentence. If there are multiple verbs, we should focus on the primary one or the one that defines the structure. In this case, “turned off” is transitive, and “went to sleep” is intransitive. But since the sentence starts with a transitive verb and it’s the main action described, we’ll go with TRANSITIVE.
Actually — looking again: the sentence says “My father turned off the light and went to sleep.” It’s compound predicate. But for classification purposes, if ANY major verb is transitive and takes an object, and it’s central to the meaning, we might lean transitive. However, standard practice is to evaluate the verb that is being tested. Since no specific verb is underlined, we assume the main verb of the clause. Let’s split it:
First clause: “My father turned off the light” → transitive
Second clause: “and went to sleep” → intransitive
But since the sentence is listed as one item, and the first verb is transitive, and it’s the more active/descriptive verb, I think it’s safe to say TRANSITIVE.
However — let me double-check common usage. Actually, in such cases, if the sentence contains a transitive verb with an object, we often label the sentence based on that. So yes → ✔ TRANSITIVE

Wait — correction: Some teachers might argue that since there are two verbs, you have to pick the main one. But in most worksheets like this, they expect you to identify whether the verb used has a direct object. Here, “turned off” has “the light”, so it’s transitive. The second verb doesn’t change that. So still → ✔ TRANSITIVE

19. The bus stopped suddenly.
→ “stopped” what? → Nothing. The bus just stopped. → ✔ INTRANSITIVE

20. He put on his rain coat because it was raining.
→ “put on” what? → “his rain coat” → ✔ TRANSITIVE

Let me quickly recheck #18 to be sure.

Sentence 18: “My father turned off the light and went to sleep.”

The verb “turned off” is transitive (object = the light).
The verb “went” is intransitive.
But since the sentence begins with a transitive verb and it’s a key action, and worksheet questions like this usually expect you to recognize the presence of a direct object in the main verb phrase, I believe TRANSITIVE is correct.

Alternatively, if the worksheet expects only one answer per sentence and the sentence contains both types, it’s ambiguous — but in standard grammar exercises, if a sentence includes a transitive verb with its object, it’s labeled transitive.

So final decision for #18: TRANSITIVE

Now compiling all answers:

1. TRANSITIVE
2. INTRANSITIVE
3. INTRANSITIVE
4. TRANSITIVE
5. TRANSITIVE
6. TRANSITIVE
7. TRANSITIVE
8. INTRANSITIVE
9. TRANSITIVE
10. INTRANSITIVE
11. INTRANSITIVE
12. TRANSITIVE
13. TRANSITIVE
14. INTRANSITIVE
15. TRANSITIVE
16. INTRANSITIVE
17. TRANSITIVE
18. TRANSITIVE
19. INTRANSITIVE
20. TRANSITIVE

Final Answer:
1. TRANSITIVE
2. INTRANSITIVE
3. INTRANSITIVE
4. TRANSITIVE
5. TRANSITIVE
6. TRANSITIVE
7. TRANSITIVE
8. INTRANSITIVE
9. TRANSITIVE
10. INTRANSITIVE
11. INTRANSITIVE
12. TRANSITIVE
13. TRANSITIVE
14. INTRANSITIVE
15. TRANSITIVE
16. INTRANSITIVE
17. TRANSITIVE
18. TRANSITIVE
19. INTRANSITIVE
20. TRANSITIVE