Innisfree Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Dd is doing STRWTL Latin Prep, and the example given for an intransitive verb is "walk." According to the book (British), "one cannot walk someone or something." Dd says "But we walk the dog!" Is "walking the dog" not standard British English? Am I missing something grammatically? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 You can also "walk the garden path." And of course a pitcher can "walk a batter." :) I agree it can be transitive, though it usually is intransitive. (I'm American, though, so that doesn't help answer your question.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 We walk dogs in Britain too. I think 'walk' is usually intransitive but sometimes transitive. No help, huh? ETA: I checked the OED: most of the uses are intransitive but some are transitive (walk the streets, walk on water, walk a minuet, walk the exchange, walk a dog/horse) L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 M-w lists as both http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/walk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Innisfree Posted October 24, 2014 Author Share Posted October 24, 2014 Okay, thanks! Dd is tickled. "You mean people already answered?" I knew we could find the answer here! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I really love this sort of question! It makes me look at our language in so many different ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I would take the dog for a walk if I had one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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