Literary notes about Transitive (AI summary)
The term “transitive” has been used in literature both as a precise grammatical label and as a metaphor for dynamic processes. In traditional grammar texts—such as those by Farley and Kittredge—it designates verbs that require a direct object to complete their meaning, as shown in examples where direct objects are defined and exercises are provided to distinguish transitive from intransitive uses [1][2][3][4][5]. Moreover, the term is exploited to discuss subtler aspects of verb behavior, including absolute use without an expressed object [6][7] and even cases where a single verb might be transitive in one sense and intransitive in another [8][9]. On the other hand, in more philosophical or metaphorical contexts, “transitive” alludes to functions that transfer or connect ideas, such as the “transitive phases of consciousness” described by Santayana, which link human knowledge to eternal truths [10][11][12]. This dual application underscores the term’s flexibility, bridging technical linguistic analysis with broader conceptual explorations of action and relational dynamics.
- Write fifteen sentences, each containing a transitive verb and its direct object ( §§ 99–100 ).
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - A substantive that completes the meaning of a transitive verb is called its direct object.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - Verbs are either transitive or intransitive ( § 99 ).
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - 2. Direct object of a transitive verb ( § 99 ): as,— I will find you .
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - A substantive that completes the meaning of a transitive verb is called its direct object, and is said to be in the objective case.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - There is a sharp contrast between a transitive verb used absolutely and a real intransitive verb.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - Many transitive verbs may be used absolutely,—that is, merely to express action without any indication of the direct object.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - 3. Make a list of twenty verbs that are transitive in one sense, intransitive in another ( § 212 ).
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - A verb which is transitive in one of its senses may be intransitive in another.
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - The transitive phases of consciousness, however, have themselves a reference to eternal things.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - This transcendence is what gives knowledge its cognitive and useful essence, its transitive function and validity.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - But fables, when hypostatised, forget that they, too, were transitive symbols and boast to reveal an undiscoverable reality.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana
