Identifying Parts of Speech Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Prep

The selected answer is appropriate as "laughed" functions as the intransitive verb in the sentence "The baby laughed." An intransitive verb is a type of verb that does not require a direct object to complete its meaning. In this case, "laughed" expresses an action performed by the subject "the baby" without directing that action towards an object. The sentence conveys a complete thought simply by indicating that the baby engaged in the action of laughing, demonstrating how an intransitive verb operates independently.

Other words in the sentence serve different grammatical roles: "baby" is a noun representing the subject of the verb, and "the" is a determiner providing specification to the noun. The option that was not chosen, "innocent," doesn't appear in the sentence at all and lacks relevance to it. Thus, "laughed" is clearly the intransitive verb, accurately fitting the definition as it stands alone without a direct object.