A transitive verb builds a clause with a subject and a direct object: someone reads a book, opens a door, or buys a ticket. An intransitive verb builds its basic clause with one core participant: someone sleeps, arrives, or falls. This distinction matters especially in the perfective, because canonical transitive clauses normally mark the actor with ने, while ordinary intransitive clauses do not.
Find the stem, then identify the argument pattern
The dictionary infinitive ends in -ना. Removing it gives the stem used in many constructions: खोलना → खोल- “open something,” खुलना → खुल- “open/become open,” सोना → सो- “sleep.” Stem shape alone does not reliably tell you whether a verb is transitive; learn a new verb together with a short argument frame.
| Verb | Basic frame | Class |
|---|---|---|
| सोना | बच्चा सोता है | intransitive |
| आना | मेहमान आते हैं | intransitive |
| पढ़ना | छात्र किताब पढ़ता है | transitive in “read”; can occur without an overt object when understood |
| खोलना | रीना दरवाज़ा खोलती है | transitive |
| खुलना | दरवाज़ा खुलता है | intransitive |
रीना हर सुबह खिड़की खोलती है।
rīnā har subah khiṛkī kholtī hai.
Rina opens the window every morning.
यह खिड़की आसानी से खुलती है।
yah khiṛkī āsānī se khultī hai.
This window opens easily.
In the first sentence, रीना acts on direct object खिड़की. In the second, खिड़की is the sole core participant undergoing a change of state. Hindi often lexicalizes this contrast with related but distinct stems rather than using English-style “the same verb, with or without an object.”
Imperfective clauses usually agree with the subject
In habitual and progressive clauses, both transitive and intransitive predicates normally agree with an unmarked subject. Transitivity does not by itself trigger ने in these aspects.
अमित अख़बार पढ़ता है।
amit axbār paṛhtā hai.
Amit reads the newspaper.
नीलम अख़बार पढ़ रही है।
nīlam axbār paṛh rahī hai.
Neelam is reading the newspaper.
लड़के बरामदे में सो रहे हैं।
laṛke barāmde meṃ so rahe haiṃ.
The boys are sleeping on the veranda.
Transitive पढ़ना has an object in the first two examples, but habitual पढ़ता and progressive रही agree with the subjects. ने is not a general “doer marker”; its core distribution is tied to perfective transitive syntax.
Perfective agreement: a compact contrast
| Clause type | Example | Agreement controller |
|---|---|---|
| intransitive, masculine singular | रवि आया | unmarked subject रवि |
| intransitive, feminine singular | रीना आई | unmarked subject रीना |
| intransitive, masculine plural | लड़के आए | unmarked subject लड़के |
| intransitive, feminine plural | लड़कियाँ आईं | unmarked subject लड़कियाँ |
| transitive + ने, unmarked object | रवि ने चिट्ठी लिखी | unmarked object चिट्ठी |
| transitive + ने, को-marked object | रवि ने रीना को बुलाया | default masculine singular |
मेहमान समय पर पहुँच गए।
mehmān samay par pahũc gae.
The guests arrived on time.
सारा ने दोनों किताबें खरीद लीं।
sārā ne donoṃ kitābeṃ kharīd līṃ.
Sara bought both books.
सारा ने अपने भाई को बुलाया।
sārā ne apne bhāī ko bulāyā.
Sara called her brother over.
In खरीद लीं, the feminine plural unmarked object किताबें controls the vector verb's agreement. In भाई को बुलाया, the object is marked and the ने-marked actor is also ineligible, so बुलाया is default masculine singular. The exact conditioning of को depends on animacy, definiteness, specificity, lexical semantics, and construction; it is not a mechanical label for every English direct object.
For the full split-ergative pattern, see transitive perfectives with ने.
An omitted object does not necessarily make a verb intransitive
Objects can be recoverable from context. पढ़ना in मैं पढ़ रहा हूँ may mean “I am reading/studying,” with no object spoken, but the lexical verb still permits a direct object. Transitivity is an argument-structure property, not a count of nouns visibly present in one sentence.
मैं अभी पढ़ रही हूँ; बाद में फ़ोन करना।
maĩ abhī paṛh rahī hū̃; bād meṃ fon karnā.
I'm studying right now; call later. (female speaker)
Conversely, an intransitive verb may occur with time, place, source, or manner phrases without becoming transitive.
बच्चे दो घंटे तक पार्क में दौड़े।
bacce do ghaṇṭe tak pārk meṃ dauṛe.
The children ran in the park for two hours.
दो घंटे तक and पार्क में are adverbials, not direct objects. English terminology can tempt learners to call every noun phrase after a verb an object; Hindi case behavior and agreement provide better diagnostics.
Related pairs are lexical, not perfectly automatic
Hindi has many intransitive–transitive–causative families, but no single suffix produces every pair without irregularity.
| Intransitive | Transitive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| खुलना | खोलना | open / open something |
| टूटना | तोड़ना | break / break something |
| जागना | जगाना | wake up / wake someone |
| बैठना | बिठाना | sit down / seat someone |
| गिरना | गिराना | fall / cause to fall, drop |
हवा से गिलास गिर गया, लेकिन टूटा नहीं।
havā se gilās gir gayā, lekin ṭūṭā nahīṃ.
The glass fell because of the wind, but it did not break.
रोहन ने गलती से गिलास गिरा दिया।
rohan ne galtī se gilās girā diyā.
Rohan accidentally knocked the glass down.
The second clause is transitive even though the event was accidental. Volition and transitivity are related in discourse but are not the same grammatical property.
Questions, negatives, and temporal interpretation
Polarity does not change a verb's basic transitivity.
क्या तुमने दरवाज़ा बंद किया?
kyā tumne darvāzā band kiyā?
Did you close the door?
मैंने दरवाज़ा बंद नहीं किया।
maĩne darvāzā band nahīṃ kiyā.
I didn't close the door.
Both are perfective transitive clauses with ने and unmarked masculine object दरवाज़ा, so किया is masculine singular. A present routine needs habitual structure, not an English past/present substitution:
चौकीदार रात को मुख्य दरवाज़ा बंद करता है।
caukīdār rāt ko mukhya darvāzā band kartā hai.
The guard closes the main door at night.
The predicate layers are बंद + कर- + ता + है: predicative element, lexical light verb stem, habitual aspect, and present auxiliary.
Common Mistakes
Adding ने to an ordinary perfective intransitive
❌ सीमा ने जल्दी पहुँची।
Incorrect — ordinary intransitive पहुँचना takes an unmarked subject in the perfective.
✅ सीमा जल्दी पहुँची।
sīmā jaldī pahũcī.
Seema arrived early.
Omitting ने from a canonical perfective transitive
❌ सीमा चिट्ठी लिखी।
Incorrect in neutral Standard Hindi — perfective transitive लिखना normally marks the actor with ने.
✅ सीमा ने चिट्ठी लिखी।
sīmā ne ciṭṭhī likhī.
Seema wrote the letter.
Treating an intransitive as an English-style passive
❌ दरवाज़ा किसी ने खुला।
Incorrect — खुलना is intransitive and cannot take an external opener this way.
✅ किसी ने दरवाज़ा खोला।
kisī ne darvāzā kholā.
Someone opened the door.
Matching the perfective to the ने-marked actor
❌ मीरा ने नया जूते खरीदा।
Incorrect — the noun phrase needs plural नए जूते, and the unmarked masculine plural object controls खरीदे.
✅ मीरा ने नए जूते खरीदे।
mīrā ne nae jūte kharīde.
Mira bought new shoes.
Using an infinitive as a finite verb
❌ ट्रेन समय पर पहुँचना।
Incorrect as a completed event — पहुँचना is an infinitive.
✅ ट्रेन समय पर पहुँची।
ṭren samay par pahũcī.
The train arrived on time.
Key Takeaways
- Transitive verbs license a direct object; intransitives have one basic core participant. Omitted or added adverbial phrases do not redefine that pattern.
- Habitual and progressive predicates normally agree with an unmarked subject regardless of transitivity.
- In the perfective, ordinary intransitives agree with their subject; canonical transitives use ने, then agree with an eligible unmarked object or take default agreement.
- Related pairs such as खुलना/खोलना are lexical and must be learned; there is no universal English-style alternation.
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Start learning Hindi →Related Topics
- Finite predicates and auxiliariesA1 — Build complete Hindi predicates by combining a lexical stem with aspect or modality, agreement morphology, and the appropriate finite auxiliary.
- Transitive perfective with नेA2 — Mark the actor with ने in canonical transitive perfectives and choose verb agreement from the eligible object rather than the semantic doer.
- Intransitive perfective agreementA2 — Make ordinary intransitive perfectives agree with their unmarked subject while recognizing agentive exceptions and experiencer structures.
- Perfective object agreementA2 — Make a transitive perfective agree with an eligible unmarked direct object after ने, including gender-number and auxiliary-bearing forms.
- को as differential object markerA2 — Understand how animacy, specificity, definiteness, affectedness, and verb meaning condition को on direct objects and reshape perfective agreement.
- ने or no ने in perfective clausesA2 — Choose ने from Hindi aspect, voice, and transitivity rather than adding it mechanically to every past event.