Transitive and intransitive verbs in Italian

In Italian it is important to distinguish between two categories of verbs based on their relationship with the subject and the other elements of the clause: transitive and intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs in Italian

Transitive verbs (verbi transitivi in italiano) are used as follows:

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Usage and function of transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are those verbs that take a direct object (complemento oggetto).

Examples:

• Lucia canta una canzone (Lucia sings a song)
• Marco compra un libro (Marco buys a book)

Transitive verbs are not always followed by a direct object. Sometimes the direct object can be omitted because it is implicit
E.g. Laura legge (Laura reads)
Luca suona (Luca plays)

List of the main transitive verbs in Italian

Here you can find a list of the main transitive verbs in Italian:

Intransitive verbs in Italian

Intransitive verbs (verbi intransitivi in italiano) are used as follows:

Usage and function of intransitive verbs

Intransitive verbs are those verbs that cannot take a direct object (complemento oggetto).

Examples:

• Alessia dorme sul divano (Alessia sleeps on the sofa)
• Giorgio cammina per strada (Giorgio walks down the street)

List of the main intransitive verbs in Italian

Here is a list of the main intransitive verbs in Italian:

Verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive

There are some verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive based on the context in which they occur.

Example:

• Riccardo mangia una mela (Riccardo eats an apple)
• Quando mangiamo? (When are we going to eat?)

List of the main transitive and intransitive verbs

Here is a list of some verbs that can be both transitive and intransitive:

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