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Ditransitive verbs that are both directly and indirectly transitive. Verbs like montrer (to show), donner (to give) and écrire (to write) can be followed both by something they affect AND a recipient/target of the action. Je montre le cahier à mon père. (I show the book to my dad. / I show my dad the book.) Il donne un billet à Patrice. (He ...
Some verbs are intransitive - cannot have any object. There are of course verbs that have both transitive and intransitive usage. So as not to repeat everything, I will just note that the 'description' of these forms in lessons is not always consistent with their 'definitions'.
So in general, when a verb is both transitive and intransitive, we should use avoir with the transitive version, and when applicable, use etre with the intransitive version? This question relates to: French lesson "Monter can be used with avoir or être in Le Passé Composé depending on its meaning in French"
*Grammaphile's Corner : the technical grammatical distinction between these cases is actually whether the verb is used in a transitive or intransitive manner. - The transitive version (the version with a direct object) uses avoir. - The intransitive version (lacking a direct object), uses être.
An intransitive verb is a verb that doesn't allow an object, either direct or indirect. Nous courons. (We run.) Le chat miaule. (The cat is meowing.) Il a éternué. (He sneezed.) Souvent, je chante sous la douche. (I often sing in the shower.)
The property of transitivity or intransitivity applies specifically to verbs. Every verb belongs to one of these two categories, though on occasions some verbs can switch between the two types. He barked. (intransitive verb) Julie eats an apple. (transitive verb) Note: Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive, depending on context.
I use Avoir when Transitive as is #2 but why avoir in #1 which is intransitive as is #3. This is the most confusing subject I have encountered so far. Please explain.
Intransitive (with "être" as auxiliary): Elle est tombée de vélo.-- She fell off the bike. Les feuilles sont tombées des arbres. (The leaves fell from the trees. Transitive (with "avoir" as auxiliary and "laisser tomber" as the more idiomatic usage of "to drop"): J'ai laissé tomber la boîte par terre.-- I dropped the box on the ground.
Transitive (requires an object) Intransitive (doesn't require an object) However, some verbs can work as both. These are ditransitive verbs. In these cases, you'll need to learn both the transitive and intransitive conjugation rules for the verb. To get started, check out our French verb transitivity guide with exercises. 4. Verb Voice
Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs. A further complication is sometimes a given verb can be transitive or intransitive in one language, but its equivalent in the other is two distinct verbs. So, again, you need to consider context in order to choose the right translation for "I grow flowers" vs "Flowers grow quickly."