WE all know that when a sentence uses a transitive verb as the operative verb, it's absolutely necessary for the subject to take a direct object and to act on it: 'The woman spurned her suitor last week.' 'Her suitor found a better woman yesterday.' Nothing really happens when there's no direct object to take the action: 'The woman spurned last week.' 'Her suitor found yesterday.' When a transitive verb can't act on anything, in fact, expect the sentence to make no sense at all.

A direct object, however, need not always be someone or something other than the subject itself. In grammar as in real life, there are many situations in which the subject can perform actions to or for itself as the direct object. The transitive verb therefore still functions even in the absence of an external object or receiver.