The grammatical category transitivity is not limited to verb phrases; it is also valid for verbal roots too. It describes whether a verb phrase is accompanied by a direct object (= transitive verb phrase) or not (= intransitive verb phrase), when it is used as a predicate of a sentence:
نامه‌یِ تو سرانجام دیروز رسید. (intransitive)
سرش را (direct object) رویِ زانویِ من گذاشت. (transitive)
Special forms of transitive verb phrases are causative verb phrases. When such a verb phrase is used as a predicate in the sentence, an agent (= subject) causes/forces another agent (= benefactive object) to perform the action with a direct object:
سوسن (subject) به زور دارو را (direct object) به پدرش (benefactive object) خورانید. (causative)
In Persian, it is common to generate present participles with a new transitivity using suffixes (see 12•۲•a•b.. Naturally, other verb phrases can be derived from these present participles:
- Intransitive present participles (occasionally also past participles) can generate new transitive present participles by means of the suffix /-ɒn/:
گنجشک از شاخه پرید. ⇆ بچه‌ها گنجشک را از شاخه پراندند.
غنچه‌ها شکفت. ⇆ بهار غنچه‌ها را شکفتانید.
- The suffix /-ɒn/ can generate new causative present participles from transitive present participles:
کفش‌ش را می‌پوشد. ⇆ پدرش کفش‌ش را به او می‌پوشاند.
- The suffix /-æn/ can be used for the derivation of new intransitive present participles from transitive present participles:
روزگار اندوه‌م را افزود. ⇆ اندوه‌م افزایند.