She could help him to escape.
I cooked for about eight directors.
She had never cooked dinner for anyone.
I washed and ironed for them.
She ironed my shirt.
Rudolph waved and went into the house.
She smiled and waved her hand.
She sat and typed.
She typed a letter to the paper in question.
You need to give the object when it is different from the one that people would normally associate with the verb. For example, to wave is usually interpreted as meaning to wave your hand, so if something else is being waved, you have to mention it.
He waved a piece of paper in his left hand.
Charlie washed Susan’s feet.
You also mention the object when you want to say something specific about it.
He washed his summer clothes and put them away.
Bond waved a cheerful hand.
I could save quite a lot of money.
3.50 Here is a list of verbs that can be used without an object when it is obvious what sort of thing is involved:
borrow
change
clean
cook
draw
drink
drive
dust
eat
film
help
iron
learn
lend
marry
paint
park
point
read
ride
save
sing
smoke
spend
steal
study
type
wash
wave
write
object already mentioned
3.51 There is another group of verbs that usually have an object but that can be used without an object with the same meaning. These are verbs where the object is obvious because it has already been mentioned. For example, if you have already mentioned the place where something happened, you can say I left, without naming the place again.
At last she thanked them and left.
He turned away and walked quickly up the passage. I locked the door and followed.
I was in the middle of a quiet meal when the tanks attacked.
She did not look round when he entered.
The sentry fired at the doctor and fortunately missed.
Only two or three hundred men belonged to the Union before the war, now thousands joined.
3.52 Here is a list of verbs that can be used without an object when the object has already been mentioned:
accept
aim
answer
approach
ask
attack
begin
bite
blow
board
call
check
choose
consider
direct
dry
enter
explain
fit
follow
forget
gain
guess
improve
join
judge
know
lead
leave
lose
mind
miss
move
notice
observe
offer
order
pass
phone
play
produce
pull
push
remember
ring
rule
search
serve
share
sign
strike
telephone
understand
watch
win
3.53 If you think that the object may not be obvious from what has been said or if you particularly want to draw attention to it, you mention it.
All I know is that Michael and I never left the house.
Miss Lindley followed Rose into the shop.
They were unaware they had attacked a British warship.
A man entered the shop and demanded money.
She threw the first dart and missed the board altogether.
I had joined an athletic club in Chicago.
speaker’s decisions
3.54 There are not many verbs that always have an object or never have an object. The decision about whether or not to mention an object is left to the users. If they think that the people reading or listening to them will have no difficulty in working out what person or thing is affected by the action, then they can leave out the object. If they think that this will not be clear, they will use an object in order to prevent misunderstanding. The main reasons for omitting the object are that it is obvious from the meaning of the verb itself, or that it is obvious from what has already been said.
Verbs that can take an object or a prepositional phrase
3.55 There is a small group of verbs that can be followed by either an object or a prepositional phrase. The verb fight is one of these verbs, so that, for example, you can say He fought the enemy or He fought against the enemy.
The Polish Army fought the Germans for nearly five weeks.
He was fighting against history.
The New Zealand rugby team played South Africa’s Springboks.
In his youth, Thomas played against Glamorgan.
3.56 There is usually little difference in meaning between using the verb on its own and following it with a preposition. For example, there is very little difference in meaning between brush and brush against, gnaw and gnaw at, and hiss and hiss at in the following examples.
Her arm brushed my cheek.
Something brushed against the back of the shelter.
Rabbits often gnaw the woodwork of their cages.
Insects had been gnawing at the wood.
They hissed the Mayor at the ceremony.
Frederica hissed at him.
3.57 Here is a list of verbs that can be used with an object or a prepositional phrase, with little difference in meaning:
boo (at)
brush (against)
check (on)
distinguish (between)
enter (for)
fight (against)
fight (with)
gain (in)
gnaw (at)
hiss (at)
infiltrate (into)
jeer (at)
juggle (with)
mock (at)
mourn (for)
nibble (at)
play (against)
rule (over)
sip (at)
sniff (at)
tug (at)
twiddle (with)
verbs of movement
3.58 Many of the verbs that can take an object or a prepositional phrase are verbs, such as wander and cross, that describe physical movement. The preposition is one that indicates place, and so allows you to emphasize the physical position of the subject in relation to the object.
He wandered the halls of the Art Institute.
He wandered through the streets of New York.