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Intermediate

Transitivity & Argument Structure

How verbs take objects, drop them, or shift between transitive and intransitive uses in Spanish, English and Chinese.

Compare languages

Transitivity describes whether a verb takes a direct object. English requires explicit objects or prepositions. Spanish uses se to detransitivize. Chinese verbs are often ambivalent, with context disambiguating.

Overview

Transitivity is whether a verb takes a direct object. Languages differ in how freely verbs can appear with or without objects, and how they mark the shift.

Spanish: Many verbs have transitive and intransitive versions. The reflexive se detransitivizes verbs (romper → romperse). Object drop is freer than in English.
English: Many verbs are ambitransitive (I eat rice / I eat). Some require objects (put the book down — I put is incomplete). No morphological detransitivization.
Chinese: Verbs often drop objects freely when context permits. Many common actions are verb-noun compounds (睡shuì觉jué = sleep). No morphological marking for transitivity shift.

Spanish

Transitive verbs (require object)

These verbs need an explicit object:

romper (break): Rompí el jarrón. (I broke the vase.)
ver (see): Veo la casa. (I see the house.)
poner (put): Puse el libro aquí. (I put the book here.)
dar (give): Di un regalo. (I gave a gift.)
hacer (make): Hice la cena. (I made dinner.)

Intransitive verbs (no object)

These verbs cannot take direct objects:

llegar (arrive): Llegué. (I arrived.)
morir (die): Murió. (He died.)
dormir (sleep): Durmió. (He slept.)
nacer (be born): Nació. (He was born.)
caer (fall): Cayó. (It fell.)

Ambitransitive verbs

Same form for transitive and intransitive:

comer (eat): Como arroz. / Como. (I eat rice. / I eat.)
leer (read): Leo libros. / Leo. (I read books. / I read.)
beber (drink): Bebo agua. / Bebo. (I drink water. / I drink.)
fumar (smoke): Fumo cigarrillos. / Fumo. (I smoke cigarettes. / I smoke.)

Se + verb (detransitivization / inchoative)

Spanish uses se to create intransitive/anticausative counterparts:

Transitive	Intransitive (se)
romper (break something)	romperse (break, of itself)
caer (drop something)	caerse (fall down)
quemar (burn something)	quemarse (burn, of itself)
abrir (open something)	abrirse (open, of itself)
cerrar (close something)	cerrarse (close, of itself)
mover (move something)	moverse (move, of itself)

Examples:

Rompí el jarrón. (I broke the vase. — transitive)
El jarrón se rompió. (The vase broke. — intransitive/anticausative)
Abrí la puerta. (I opened the door.)
La puerta se abrió. (The door opened.)

Se as unintentional

Se can mark unintentional action with a human subject:

Se me cayó el vaso. (I dropped the glass [unintentionally]. — lit. “The glass fell from me.”)
Se me olvidó. (I forgot it. — lit. “It forgot itself from me.”)
Se me murió el perro. (My dog died [on me].)

Middle voice (se + human)

Esta tela se lava fácilmente. (This fabric washes easily.)
El libro se vende bien. (The book sells well.)
La puerta se abre hacia afuera. (The door opens outward.)

English

Transitive verbs (require object)

These verbs need an explicit object:

put: Put the book down. (NOT I put.)
give: Give me the book. (NOT I give.)
tell: Tell me the truth. (NOT I tell.)
send: Send a letter. (NOT I send. — in isolation)
make: Make dinner. (NOT I make. — in isolation)

Intransitive verbs (no object)

arrive: I arrived.
die: He died.
sleep: She slept.
fall: It fell.
happen: What happened?

Ambitransitive verbs (both)

S=Subject, O=Object, both have same form:

eat: I eat rice. / I eat.
read: I read books. / I read.
write: I write novels. / I write.
sing: I sing songs. / I sing.
drive: I drive a car. / I drive.
cook: I cook dinner. / I cook.

Different forms:

lay (transitive) / lie (intransitive): Lay the book down. / Lie down.
raise (transitive) / rise (intransitive): Raise your hand. / The sun rises.
set (transitive) / sit (intransitive): Set the table. / Sit down.

Labile verbs (same form, different structures)

I broke the vase. (transitive)
The vase broke. (intransitive)
I opened the door. (transitive)
The door opened. (intransitive)
I melted the butter. (transitive)
The butter melted. (intransitive)

Get-passive (anticausative)

The vase got broken.
The door got opened.
He got hurt.

Causative make

I made him laugh. (I caused him to laugh.)
She made me cry.
He made it work.

Chinese

Transitive verbs with objects

我wǒ吃chī米mǐ饭fàn。(I eat rice.)
他tā看kàn书shū。(He reads books.)
我wǒ写xiě信xìn。(I write letters.)

Object drop (intransitive use)

Chinese freely drops objects when context is clear:

我wǒ吃chī了le。(I ate [already]. — object understood)
他tā看kàn了le。(He read [it]. — object understood)
你nǐ写xiě完wán了le吗ma？(Did you finish writing [it]?)

Verb-noun compounds

Many Chinese verbs are actually V+N compounds where the N is part of the verb:

Compound	Literal	Meaning
睡shuì觉jiào	sleep + sleep (noun)	sleep
洗xǐ澡zǎo	wash + bath	bathe
唱chàng歌gē	sing + song	sing
跳tiào舞wǔ	jump + dance	dance
跑pǎo步bù	run + step	run
散sàn步bù	scatter + step	walk
吃chī饭fàn	eat + meal	eat

Note: These cannot normally take another object:

❌ 我wǒ睡shuì觉jiào房fáng间jiān (wrong)
✅ 我wǒ在zài房fáng间jiān睡shuì觉jiào (I sleep in the room.)

Resultative compounds

Chinese creates transitive/intransitive pairs through resultative complements:

打dǎ破pò (hit-break = break): 我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng (I broke the vase.)
破pò (break [state]): 花huā瓶píng破pò了le (The vase broke.)

被bèi passive (marked transitivity)

花huā瓶píng被bèi我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le (The vase was broken by me.)
花huā瓶píng打dǎ破pò了le (The vase broke. — no 被bèi, context implies)

Causative 让ràng/叫jiào/使shǐ

让ràng他tā笑xiào (make him laugh)
叫jiào他tā哭kū (make him cry)
使shǐ他tā生shēng气qì (make him angry — formal)

Comparison at a glance

Feature	Spanish	English	Chinese
Detransitivization	se + verb	labile verb (broke/broke)	object drop / context
Causative	hacer + inf	make/let + verb	让ràng/叫jiào/使shǐ + person + verb
Object drop	Freer than English	Less free	Very free
Intransitive sleep	dormir	sleep	睡shuì觉jué (V+N compound)
Accidental action	se me + verb	I dropped it	打dǎ破pò了le (context)
Middle voice	se + verb easily	-s/-ing passive	容róng易yì + verb
V-N compounds	Few	Few	Many (sleep=睡shuì觉jué)

Examples

In Context

Spanish	English	Chinese
Rompí el jarrón. / El jarrón se rompió.	I broke the vase. / The vase broke.	我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng。 / 花huā瓶píng破pò了le。
Se me cayó el vaso.	I dropped the glass. / The glass slipped from my hand.	杯bēi子zǐ掉diào了le。(The glass fell. — context implies unintentional)
El libro se vende bien.	The book sells well.	这zhè本běn书shū很hěn好hǎo卖mài。(This book sells well. — 好hǎo卖mài = easy to sell)

Common mistakes

English speakers learning Spanish: El jarrón rompió → El jarrón se rompió
Spanish speakers learning English: I dropped the glass when they mean it fell on its own → The glass fell / I dropped the glass (implies my fault)
English speakers learning Chinese: 我wǒ睡shuì → 我wǒ睡shuì觉jué (sleep is a compound)
Chinese speakers learning English: I eat already without object → I ate / I had dinner

Passive: How passive voice relates to transitivity
Causatives: How causative constructions add an agent
Light Verbs: How verb-noun compounds work
Reflexives: How reflexive marking detransitivizes

Examples

I broke the vase / The vase broke

Rompí el jarrón / El jarrón se rompió

I eat rice / I eat

Como arroz / Como

I read books / I read

Leo libros / Leo

Intransitive only

llegar, morir, dormir

Transitive only

romper, ver, poner

Detransitivization strategy

se + verb (se rompió)

Causative counterpart

hacer + infinitive

Ambitransitive

romper (trans) / romperse (intrans)

Examples

I broke the vase / The vase broke

I eat rice / I eat

I read books / I read

Intransitive only

arrive, die, sleep

Transitive only

break, see, put

Detransitivization strategy

intransitive alternate (broke) or get-passive

Causative counterpart

make/cause/let + verb

Ambitransitive

break (both: I broke it / It broke)

Examples

I broke the vase / The vase broke

我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng / 花huā瓶píng破pò了le

I eat rice / I eat

我wǒ吃chī米mǐ饭fàn / 我wǒ吃chī了le

I read books / I read

我wǒ看kàn书shū / 我wǒ看kàn了le

Intransitive only

到dào，死sǐ，睡shuì觉jué

Transitive only

看kàn见jiàn，打dǎ破pò，放fàng

Detransitivization strategy

object drop (context) or 被bèi (optional)

Causative counterpart

让ràng / 使shǐ / 叫jiào

Ambitransitive

破pò (both with 了le)

Comparison at a glance

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
I broke the vase / The vase broke	Rompí el jarrón / El jarrón se rompió	I broke the vase / The vase broke	我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng / 花huā瓶píng破pò了le
I eat rice / I eat	Como arroz / Como	I eat rice / I eat	我wǒ吃chī米mǐ饭fàn / 我wǒ吃chī了le
I read books / I read	Leo libros / Leo	I read books / I read	我wǒ看kàn书shū / 我wǒ看kàn了le
Intransitive only	llegar, morir, dormir	arrive, die, sleep	到dào，死sǐ，睡shuì觉jué
Transitive only	romper, ver, poner	break, see, put	看kàn见jiàn，打dǎ破pò，放fàng
Detransitivization strategy	se + verb (se rompió)	intransitive alternate (broke) or get-passive	object drop (context) or 被bèi (optional)
Causative counterpart	hacer + infinitive	make/cause/let + verb	让ràng / 使shǐ / 叫jiào
Ambitransitive	romper (trans) / romperse (intrans)	break (both: I broke it / It broke)	破pò (both with 了le)

Side-by-side comparison

Grammar concepts	Spanish	English	Chinese
I broke the vase / The vase broke	Rompí el jarrón / El jarrón se rompió	I broke the vase / The vase broke	我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng / 花huā瓶píng破pò了le
I eat rice / I eat	Como arroz / Como	I eat rice / I eat	我wǒ吃chī米mǐ饭fàn / 我wǒ吃chī了le
I read books / I read	Leo libros / Leo	I read books / I read	我wǒ看kàn书shū / 我wǒ看kàn了le
Intransitive only	llegar, morir, dormir	arrive, die, sleep	到dào，死sǐ，睡shuì觉jué
Transitive only	romper, ver, poner	break, see, put	看kàn见jiàn，打dǎ破pò，放fàng
Detransitivization strategy	se + verb (se rompió)	intransitive alternate (broke) or get-passive	object drop (context) or 被bèi (optional)
Causative counterpart	hacer + infinitive	make/cause/let + verb	让ràng / 使shǐ / 叫jiào
Ambitransitive	romper (trans) / romperse (intrans)	break (both: I broke it / It broke)	破pò (both with 了le)

Examples in context

I broke the vase / The vase broke

Spanish

Rompí el jarrón / El jarrón se rompió

English

I broke the vase / The vase broke

Chinese

我wǒ打dǎ破pò了le花huā瓶píng / 花huā瓶píng破pò了le

I eat rice / I eat

Spanish

Como arroz / Como

English

I eat rice / I eat

Chinese

我wǒ吃chī米mǐ饭fàn / 我wǒ吃chī了le

I read books / I read

Spanish

Leo libros / Leo

English

I read books / I read

Chinese

我wǒ看kàn书shū / 我wǒ看kàn了le

Intransitive only

Spanish

llegar, morir, dormir

English

arrive, die, sleep

Chinese

到dào，死sǐ，睡shuì觉jué

Transitive only

Spanish

romper, ver, poner

English

break, see, put

Chinese

看kàn见jiàn，打dǎ破pò，放fàng

Detransitivization strategy

Spanish

se + verb (se rompió)

English

intransitive alternate (broke) or get-passive

Chinese

object drop (context) or 被bèi (optional)

Causative counterpart

Spanish

hacer + infinitive

English

make/cause/let + verb

Chinese

让ràng / 使shǐ / 叫jiào

Ambitransitive

Spanish

romper (trans) / romperse (intrans)

English

break (both: I broke it / It broke)

Chinese

破pò (both with 了le)

Key Takeaways

Spanish: Many verbs have transitive and intransitive versions. The reflexive se detransitivizes verbs (romper → romperse). Object drop is freer than.

English: Many verbs are ambitransitive (I eat rice / I eat). Some require objects (put the book down — I put is incomplete). No morphological detrans.

Chinese: Verbs often drop objects freely when context permits. Many common actions are verb-noun compounds (睡shuì觉jué = sleep). No morphological mark.

Key concepts compared: I broke the vase / The vase broke, I eat rice / I eat, I read books / I read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does English use zero-derivation causative-inchoative pairs ('break' = both transitive and intransitive) while Spanish uses 'se' and Chinese uses resultative complements?

English has many verbs that are ambivalent: 'John broke the vase' (transitive, agentive) and 'The vase broke' (intransitive, spontaneous) use the same verb form. Spanish marks the intransitive with *se*: *Juan rompió el jarrón* → *El jarrón se rompió.* Chinese marks the result with a complement: <ruby>我<rt>wǒ</rt></ruby><ruby>打<rt>dǎ</rt></ruby><ruby>破<rt>pò</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby><ruby>花<rt>huā</rt></ruby><ruby>瓶<rt>píng</rt></ruby> (I hit-broke the vase) vs. <ruby>花<rt>huā</rt></ruby><ruby>瓶<rt>píng</rt></ruby><ruby>破<rt>pò</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby> (The vase broke). An English speaker learning Spanish must learn that *se* is obligatory for many intransitive counterparts. A Spanish speaker learning English must learn that English does not mark the alternation morphologically. A Chinese speaker learning English will produce 'The vase break' (omitting the agent) because Chinese resultative complements do not require an explicit subject change.

How does Chinese allow transitive verbs to drop their objects freely while English and Spanish do not?

Chinese transitive verbs often drop objects when context makes them recoverable: <ruby>你<rt>nǐ</rt></ruby><ruby>吃<rt>chī</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby><ruby>吗<rt>ma</rt></ruby>？ (You ate [question]?) — the object (food/meal) is implied. English requires an object or a different verb: 'Have you eaten?' (no object needed because 'eat' is used intransitively here) or 'Have you eaten dinner?' Spanish requires an explicit object or reflexive: *¿Has comido?* (Have you eaten?) is acceptable, but *¿Has comido la cena?* is more explicit. An English speaker learning Chinese will add explicit objects: <ruby>你<rt>nǐ</rt></ruby><ruby>吃<rt>chī</rt></ruby><ruby>饭<rt>fàn</rt></ruby><ruby>了<rt>le</rt></ruby><ruby>吗<rt>ma</rt></ruby>？ (Have you eaten rice?) which is not wrong but sounds more specific than intended. A Chinese speaker learning English will omit objects: 'Have you eaten?' is fine, but 'I read' without context is ambiguous.

Why do Spanish speakers learning English struggle with transitive-intransitive pairs like 'raise' vs. 'rise' and 'lay' vs. 'lie'?

English distinguishes causative transitive verbs from their intransitive counterparts morphologically: 'raise' (transitive: raise your hand) vs. 'rise' (intransitive: the sun rises); 'lay' (transitive: lay the book down) vs. 'lie' (intransitive: lie down). Spanish uses *se* for the intransitive: *levantar* (raise) vs. *levantarse* (rise). Chinese uses a resultative complement or context. Spanish speakers must learn that English has dedicated verb pairs for this distinction, while Spanish uses a single morphological strategy (*se*). Chinese speakers must learn the same pairs. The 'lay/lie' distinction is so difficult that even native English speakers confuse it. Spanish speakers will produce 'I rise my hand' or 'The sun raises,' treating English like Spanish.

References

Nueva gramática de la lengua española — Real Academia Española / Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española, 2010
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language — Huddleston & Pullum, Cambridge University Press, 2002
A Comprehensive Grammar of the Modern Chinese Language — Li & Thompson, 1981

Read this first

verb-tenses direct-indirect-objects

Last updated: June 4, 2026

Overview

Spanish

Transitive verbs (require object)

Intransitive verbs (no object)

Ambitransitive verbs

Se + verb (detransitivization / inchoative)

Se as unintentional

Middle voice (se + human)

English

Transitive verbs (require object)

Intransitive verbs (no object)

Ambitransitive verbs (both)

Labile verbs (same form, different structures)

Get-passive (anticausative)

Causative make

Chinese

Transitive verbs with objects

Object drop (intransitive use)

Verb-noun compounds

Resultative compounds

被bèi passive (marked transitivity)

Causative 让ràng/叫jiào/使shǐ

Comparison at a glance

Examples

In Context

Common mistakes

Related topics

Examples

Examples

Examples

Comparison at a glance

Side-by-side comparison

Examples in context

Key Takeaways

Frequently Asked Questions

References