A transitive verb takes a direct object; without it, the meaning is incomplete. The verb “take” is one example; something or someone must be taken in order for a sentence with this verb to make sense. This common type of verb can be followed by a prepositional phrase under the right circumstances.
Active Voice
In the active voice, it is rare for a prepositional phrase to follow a transitive verb directly. Consider this example: “I took my cat to the library.” The prepositional phrase indicates where the subject took her cat, and while such modifying phrases typically follow the verb, they usually do so at a remove, often after the direct object, the cat. Most English speakers would understand the sentence, “I took to the library my cat,” but it is idiomatically incorrect. On rare occasions, a prepositional phrase can function like an appositive, in which case you should set it off with commas: “I am slashing, for one day only, these already low prices.”
Passive Voice
When a transitive verb is in the passive voice, on the other hand, it is quite common for a prepositional phrase to immediately follow it. Consider the passive version of the first example: “My cat was taken to the library.” Similarly, the second example also works with this structure: “These already low prices have been slashed for one day only.”
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Writer Bio
Jennifer Spirko has been writing professionally for more than 20 years, starting at "The Knoxville Journal." She has written for "MetroPulse," "Maryville-Alcoa Daily Times" and "Some" monthly. She has taught writing at North Carolina State University and the University of Tennessee. Spirko holds a Master of Arts from the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-on-Avon, England.