Collins Cobuild English Grammar (64 page)

BOOK: Collins Cobuild English Grammar
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3.8
      When you are talking about an action or event that does not have an object, you use an
intransitive verb
.
Her whole body
ached
.
Such people still
exist
.
My condition
deteriorated
.

Many intransitive verbs describe physical behaviour or the making of sounds.

Bob
coughed
.
Vicki
wept
bitterly.
The gate
squeaked
.
3.9
      Here is a list of verbs that are normally used without an object and that usually or often have no adverb or prepositional phrase after them:
ache
advance
arise
arrive
bleed
blush
cease
collapse
cough
crackle
cry
decay
depart
deteriorate
die
digress
dine
disappear
disintegrate
doze
droop
economize
elapse
ensue
erupt
evaporate
exist
expire
faint
fall
falter
fidget
flinch
flourish
fluctuate
gleam
growl
happen
hesitate
howl
itch
kneel
laugh
moan
occur
pause
persist
prosper
quiver
recede
relent
rise
roar
scream
shine
shiver
sigh
sleep
slip
smile
snarl
sneeze
snore
snort
sob
sparkle
speak
squeak
squeal
stink
subside
sulk
surrender
swim
throb
tingle
vanish
vary
vibrate
wait
waver
weep
wilt
work
yawn

A few of these verbs are used with an object in idioms or with very specific objects, but they are intransitive in all their common meanings.

intransitive verbs followed by phrases that begin with a preposition

3.10
    Many intransitive verbs always or typically have an adverb or prepositional phrase after them. With some, only a prepositional phrase beginning with a particular preposition is possible. This use of a preposition allows something affected by the action to be mentioned, as the object of the preposition.
Everything you see here
belongs to
me.
Landlords often
resorted to
violence.
I
sympathized with
them.
I’
m relying on
Bill.
He
strives for
excellence in all things.
3.11
    Here is a list of verbs that always or typically have a particular preposition after them when they are used with a particular meaning:
rave about
~
insure against
plot against
react against
~
hint at
~
alternate between
differentiate between
oscillate between
~
appeal for
atone for
care for
clamour for
hope for
long for
opt for
pay for
qualify for
strive for
yearn for
~
detract from
emanate from
emerge from
radiate from
shrink from
stem from
suffer from
~
believe in
consist in
culminate in
dabble in
indulge in
invest in
result in
wallow in
~
lapse into
~
complain of
conceive of
consist of
despair of
learn of
smack of
think of
tire of
~
bet on
feed on
insist on
spy on
trample on
~
adhere to
allude to
amount to
appeal to
aspire to
assent to
attend to
belong to
bow to
cling to
defer to
dictate to
lead to
listen to
object to
refer to
relate to
resort to
revert to
stoop to
~
alternate with
associate with
consort with
contend with
flirt with
grapple with
sympathize with
teem with

Here is a list of verbs that can have either of two prepositions after them with the same or very similar meaning:

abound in
abound with
cater for
cater to
conform to
conform with
contribute to
contribute towards
depend on
depend upon
dote on
dote upon
embark on
embark upon
end in
end with
engage in
engage on
enthuse about
enthuse over
gravitate to
gravitate towards
hunger after
hunger for
improve on
improve upon
liaise between

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