, are called _copulative_
verbs. Verbs that not only are relational but have descriptive power, such
as _sings, plays, runs_, etc., are called _attributive_ verbs. They
attribute some quality or characteristic to the subject.
+52. Classes of Verbs.+--According to their uses in a sentence verbs are
divided into two classes: _transitive_ and _intransitive_.
A _transitive_ verb is one that takes a following substantive, expressed
or implied, called the _object_, to designate the receiver or the product
of the action: [They seized the _city_. They built a _city_]. The
transitive verb may sometimes be used _absolutely_:[The horse eats]. Here
the object is implied.
An _intransitive_ verb is one that does not take an object to complete its
meaning; or, in other words, an intransitive verb is one that denotes an
action, state, or feeling that involves the subject only: [He ran away.
They were standing at the water's edge].
A few verbs in our language are always transitive, and a few others are
always intransitive. The verbs _lie_ and _lay, rise_ and _raise, sit_ and
_set_, are so frequently misused that attention is here called to them.
The verbs _lie, rise_, and _sit_ (usually) are intransitive in meaning,
while the verbs _lay, raise_, and _set_ are transitive. The word _sit_ may
sometimes take a reflexive object: [They sat _themselves_ down to rest].
The majority of verbs in our language are either transitive or
intransitive, according to the sense in which they are used.
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