I agree with the comment. 'Transitive' actually means that the action goes from the 'subject' through to the 'object' (from latin: trans-ire, lit. 'to go through'). That is, the action starts from the subject of the sentence and affects the direct object.
'Intransitive' (again from latin, the suffix 'in' means negation) on the other hand means that the 'action' does not 'go through'. It 'stays' with the subject, or affects the subject only.
I guess in english it may not be so clear because there are verbs that, as shown in the example of the ball, have both a transitive and intransitive meaning or use. In my native language (italian) there are a lot less of such examples, like 'decollare', which can mean both 'take off' (an airplane takes off from the airport) and 'take (the head) off' (lit. 'remove (de) from the neck (collo) action (are)' - french revolution anyone?).
We also have a verb form called 'reflexive' which serves to describe actions in which both subject and object are the same. For example, from an italian point of view, the verb 'to open' can be used both in a transitive way (I opened the window) and a reflexive way ('the window opened').
This sometimes helps me in understanding some japanese transitive/intransitive differences. I am still a basic japanese student, so I apologize for any incorrect remarks.
Lorenzo a.k.a. Chinnico
I agree with the comment.
I agree with the comment. 'Transitive' actually means that the action goes from the 'subject' through to the 'object' (from latin: trans-ire, lit. 'to go through'). That is, the action starts from the subject of the sentence and affects the direct object.
'Intransitive' (again from latin, the suffix 'in' means negation) on the other hand means that the 'action' does not 'go through'. It 'stays' with the subject, or affects the subject only.
I guess in english it may not be so clear because there are verbs that, as shown in the example of the ball, have both a transitive and intransitive meaning or use. In my native language (italian) there are a lot less of such examples, like 'decollare', which can mean both 'take off' (an airplane takes off from the airport) and 'take (the head) off' (lit. 'remove (de) from the neck (collo) action (are)' - french revolution anyone?).
We also have a verb form called 'reflexive' which serves to describe actions in which both subject and object are the same. For example, from an italian point of view, the verb 'to open' can be used both in a transitive way (I opened the window) and a reflexive way ('the window opened').
This sometimes helps me in understanding some japanese transitive/intransitive differences. I am still a basic japanese student, so I apologize for any incorrect remarks.
Lorenzo a.k.a. Chinnico