There are two kinds of verbs, transitive and intransitive. Transitive verbs show a subject performing an action directly on an object. Not only can they take a direct object, but they must have one to form a complete thought. Intransitive verbs show states of being or motion from place to place. They cannot have a direct object.

This distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs becomes extremely important when studying Latin. There are some verbs that are transitive in English but intransitive in Latin. The objects intransitive verbs take in Latin are dative rather than accusative.

It can be hard to understand how this can be true. The secret behind this mystery lies in what the verbs actually mean. For instance, the Latin verb for “obey” is pā reī. It takes a dative object because it really means “to be obedient.” The sentence Publius patrī suī pā rē bat translates literally as “Publius used to be obedient to his father.” The English verb “obey” is transitive, so you would expect an accusative object. Its Latin counterpart, however, is intransitive, so its object becomes a matter of reference: “Publius used to be obedient with reference to his father.” It sounds much less awkward in English to treat the Latin as if it were transitive and say “Publius used to obey his father. ”