08 · Predict
Verbs that stand alone
Some verbs make a complete predicate without a direct object. In The engine stalled, nothing fills an object position after stalled. This is an intransitive use of the verb.
what can follow
Material after the verb can have another job
At us gives more information about the smiling, but it does not make us an object of smiled. An intransitive clause may therefore continue after the verb. The title “stands alone” names the missing direct-object relation, not a rule that the verb must be final.
Check the frame in this clause
- Find the main verb and read the whole predicate.
- Look for a noun phrase directly paired with that verb as an object.
- If this use has none, treat it as intransitive even when an adverb or prepositional phrase follows.
A clause can describe an action involving something without naming that thing as an object. In The children ate, we understand that they ate food, but no noun phrase fills the direct-object position. In The children ate lunch, lunch fills that position. Classify the verb from the structure the sentence actually contains.
The same verb can occur with or without an object: The hatch opened has no direct object, while She opened the hatch does. The sentence, not the verb by itself, determines the pattern.
Ten sentences from this lesson, one decision at a time.