What does ditransitive mean?
"Ditransitive" is a term from grammar describing verbs that take two objects. In English, this typically means one indirect object — usually a person receiving something or being affected — and one direct object, the thing given, sent, or told. Classic ditransitive verbs include "give" ("she gave him a present"), "send", "offer", "show", and "tell". Not every verb allows this pattern: you can "donate money to charity" but standard English does not permit *"donate charity money." Linguists study such differences closely, since the set of ditransitive verbs varies between languages and even among dialects of English. The word itself combines Latin-derived "di-" (meaning "two") with "transitive," the established term for verbs that take an object; its counterpart "intransitive" refers to verbs taking none. Though chiefly an adjective, it also functions as a noun meaning a verb with this property. It belongs to formal, technical registers — the vocabulary of dictionaries, classrooms, and linguistic research — but it names a pattern so familiar in everyday speech that most people use ditransitive constructions constantly without ever needing the label.
(Of a verb) taking two objects, typically an indirect object and a direct object, as in "give him the key".
"In "They told us a story," "told" functions as a ditransitive verb."
A ditransitive verb.
""Award" and "lend" are common ditransitives in English."
"Give me the book" — that everyday sentence is doing double duty grammatically, which is exactly why linguists needed the word "ditransitive" to describe it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ditransitive
The word "ditransitive" was formed from the prefix "di-", from Greek "dis" meaning "twice" or "double", combined with "transitive", a term derived from Latin "transire" ("to go across") via Late Latin "transitivus". It emerged in the nineteenth century as grammarians refined the terminology needed to classify verbs by the number of objects they take, alongside related terms such as "intransitive" and "monotransitive". Its components are shared with words like "transition", "transit", and "transaction", all built on the same Latin root conveying movement across or through.
How ditransitive is actually used
A technical term of grammar and linguistics, used mainly in scholarly writing, language teaching, and linguistics courses rather than casual conversation. The corresponding noun sense is often expressed with the phrase "ditransitive verb".
Easily confused with ditransitive
"Ditransitive" describes verbs taking two objects, while "intransitive" describes verbs that take no object at all — despite their similar sound, they are near-opposite terms.