Types of verbs

Question

Ok, I think I have finally got my head around the meaning of 'transitive', 'intransitive' and 'pronominal' verbs.

Could somebody please explain what the following mean?

'article & verb transitive'

'verb neuter'

As you can probably gather, I am trying to use the dictionary more!!

Answer 1

Transitive: verbs used with a direct object (which can be implicit sometimes). These verbs can have a reflexive pronoun as an object, like in "Me lavo".

Intransitive: verbs that are used without a direct object, formerly called "verb neutral". These verbs can also have a reflexive pronoun as indirect object, like in "Me gusto" (I like myself). For those interested in advanced grammar, intransitive verbs can be subdivided into ergative (or inaccusative) and inergative.

Pronominal: their conjugation includes a reflexive pronoun which agrees with the verb and the subject, e.g. Me arrepiento, te arrepientes... This pronoun is syntactically seen as part of the verb, and cannot be translated as "myself", "yourself",... These verbs have a meaning and behaviour different from those not pronominal. Thus, "ir" and "irse" are not used the same, and "acordar" and "acordarse" do not even mean the same.

I personally prefer to talk about transitive and intransitive constructions, because many verbs can be used both ways, so they cannot be classified in one group or the other unless we can see how they are being used in a sentence.

many thanks as always lazarus - billygoat, Apr 5, 2011

Answer 2

link

thank you so much lorenzo :) - billygoat, Apr 5, 2011