Transitive verbs. A transitive verb expresses action that is directed toward a noun or pronoun, called the direct object (do) of the verb.

In the preceding example, the subject and verb do not express a complete thought. The direct object completes the thought by saying what he peeled.

A direct object may be followed by an object complement (oc), a word or word group that describes or identifies the direct object. Object complements may be adjectives, as in the next example, or nouns, as in the second example.

A transitive verb may also be followed by an indirect object (io), which tells to whom or what, or for whom or what, the verb’s action is done. You might say the indirect object is the recipient of the direct object.