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Subject:Re: Grammar Question From:Karen Kay <karenk -at- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 28 Aug 1995 21:18:40 -0700
Jeffrey Pittman said:
> In a message dated 95-08-28 12:10:24 EDT, WBURNS -at- VAX -dot- MICRON -dot- COM (Bill Burns)
> writes:
> >Verbs that take a direct object are transitive verbs. I used to think that
> >"display" was strictly transitive, but it's now acceptable (according to
> some
> >dictionaries) to use it without an object (for example, "The paragraph
> >designer window displays").
> Techwhirlers:
> Please correct me if I am wrong, but isn't "displays", as used in the
> above sentence, the plural of the noun, display
Nope. Intranstive verb, if 'displays' is the end of the sentence.
> To be a verb, the sentence would have to be rewritten, "The
> paragraph designer window displays elan."
This would be a transitive verb. Transitive verbs take objects,
intransitive verbs don't. This is the whole point of the original
question!