Intransitivity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. This term refers to a linguistic property where certain verbs do not take a direct object in their grammatical construction
2. This term describes a grammatical quality where some verbs are used without a direct object in their sentences
3. The characteristic of some verbs that do not need a direct object to form a complete sentence

Etymology: Transitive comes from Latin "transire," "to go across," so a transitive verb sends its action across to an object: "she kicks the ball" passes the kicking to the ball. "Intransitivity" names the property of a verb whose action stays with its subject, as in "she sleeps," where nothing receives the action. The noun is built from Latin "in-," meaning "not," the adjective "transitivus," and the suffix "-ity," which turns an adjective into a noun for a quality. Latin grammarians developed the transitive and intransitive contrast, and English took over both the adjective and the grammatical terminology built on it.