I do understand the distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs, but for this English speaker there seems to a real difference between "tu as descendu le cadeau" or "j’ai descendu les boîtes" versus "j’ai descendu les escaliers". You don’t "do" anything (like carrying it down or getting it down) to the staircase/ladder/beanstalk! I’m not sure if the French view the two situations identically or whether it’s just idiomatic to descend something with steps or rungs using the transitive form ?
Steps, stairs, rungs and beanstalks
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Anne D.Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor
Steps, stairs, rungs and beanstalks
This question relates to:French lesson "Descendre can be used with avoir or être in compound tenses depending on its meaning in French (Le Passé Composé)"
Asked 2 years ago
I think English is the same. It's just grammatical; if there's a direct object it's transitive, otherwise it's intransitive. It doesn't matter that you're not having an effect on the object, and the same action can be either transitive or intransitive depending on the verb you choose.
"I descended the stairs." (transitive)
"I went down the stairs." (intransitive)
Chris W. Kwiziq Q&A super contributor
And even the verb "to take down" has the same double meaning in English as it does in French:
I'll take these boxes down. --
I can take him down when I have a clear shot.
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