Verb to speak: transitive or intransitive? analyzing the verb to speak

Know if a verb is classified as transitive or intransitive it is, above all, having the ability to analyze about the connection he establishes with the subject. This link can occur in an intransitive way, that is, not requiring any complement (a fact that makes the verbs become classify as intransitives), as can also be done through a complement (making the verbs sometimes direct transitive, sometimes indirect).

Having listed such assumptions, let us contemplate the objective to which the referred article serves: to analyze the transitivity of the verb to speak. To do so, let us analyze some linguistic utterances, starting with the first one:
She speaks bullshit.

In this context, the verb in question (to speak) has incomplete predication, that is, it needs some term that completes its meaning. Thus, it is classified as direct transitive, since “nonsense” represents the direct object.
the parents spoke with the children.

Similarly to the previous context, we found the presence of a complement, but this time accompanied by a preposition. For this reason, the term that is highlighted (with the children) is classified as

indirect object. Thus, we say that the verb is classified as an indirect transitive.
She said-youbullshit.

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We now have two complements: one representing the direct object: “nonsense”, and the other representing the indirect object: the oblique pronoun “lhe”, that is, we say something to someone. In this case, we say that it is a direct and indirect transitive verb.
the parents spoke with the childrenabout the tour.
You don't have to go much further to find out that it's a verb indirect bitransitive, that is, indirect transitive twice, given that it is governed by both prepositions: “with” and “on”.

The baby is already talking.
Intransitive, therefore. This aspect is manifested by virtue of the verb in this context not depending on any complement to be endowed with meaning.


By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters

Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:

DUARTE, Vânia Maria do Nascimento. "Verb to speak: transitive or intransitive?"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/verbo-falar-transitivo-ou-intransitivo.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.

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