Transitive and intransitive verbs Japanese

A transitive verb is a verb that can take a direct object. In English, a direct object
immediately follows a verb, without an intervening preposition. For example, the verb to
make is a transitive verb in English. First, this verb makes sense only when someone makes
something. Second, you cannot say only I made, even if what you made is contextually
understood. You have to say, for example, I made this cake or I made it. A direct object
does not have to be an inanimate object but can be a person or an animal. For example, in
the sentence Mary invited John, the direct object is John, because this name immediately
follows the verb.

By contrast, the verb to go is not a transitive verb because it cannot be immediately

followed by a noun. For example, you can say He will go to Tokyo, but you cannot say He
will go Tokyo. A verb that cannot take a direct object is called an intransitive verb.
In Japanese, if a verb can have a noun marked by the particle を o, it is a transitive verb.

The particle を o is the direct object marker. The following sentences use transitive verbs.
See the direct object marked by を o in each of them.

 母がすしを作ります。
Haha ga sushi o tsukurimasu.
My mother will make sushi.
 新聞を読みました。
Shinbun o yomimashita.
(I) read the newspaper.
 メアリーさんを招待します。
Mearī-san o shōtai shimasu.
(I) will invite Mary.
By contrast, the following sentences contain intransitive verbs:
 兄は毎日図書館に行きます。
Ani wa mainichi toshokan ni ikimasu.
My older brother goes to the library every day.
 子供がよくこの公園で遊びます。
Kodomo ga yoku kono kōen de asobimasu.
Children often play in this park.

Transitive and intransitive pairs

In English, some pairs of verbs (e.g., to raise and to rise) have similar meanings and sound
similar, but they differ in whether the relevant item serves as the direct object or as the
subject. For example, consider I will raise the flag vs. The flag will rise. The flag is the
direct object of the verb to raise, but it is the subject of the verb to rise. Therefore, to raise
is a transitive verb, and to rise is an intransitive verb. Another example of a transitive and
intransitive pair of verbs in English is to lay and to lie. There are not many pairs like this in
English, but there are many in Japanese.
For example, こわす kowasu is a transitive verb (to break), and こわれる kowareru is
an intransitive verb (to break). The item broken is marked by the direct object particle を o
when the verb is こわす kowasu, but it is marked by the subject particle が ga when the
verb is こわれる kowareru.

 弟が父のカメラをこわしました。
Otōto ga chichi no kamera o kowashimashita.
My younger brother broke my father’s camera.
 父のカメラがこわれました。
Chichi no kamera ga kowaremashita.
My father’s camera broke down.

The following are only a few of the many transitive and intransitive pairs in Japanese:

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