"Most people think of bamboo as a tree or a bush." Is the verb transitive or intransitive? I think I see from other posts it is transitive but why? Where is the direct object?
It can be either, depending on the context.
Here, though, it's intransitive. And you're right ... because there's no direct object.
In the sentence "Most people think of bamboo as a tree or a bush," the verb "think" is actually an intransitive verb, not a transitive verb.
You are correct that there is no direct object in this sentence. Intransitive verbs do not require a direct object to complete their meaning. Instead, they can express a complete thought on their own, without requiring an object to receive the action.
The verb "think" in the sentence "Most people think of bamboo as a tree or a bush" is actually an intransitive verb. It does not require a direct object to be considered a complete sentence. In this case, "of bamboo as a tree or a bush" is not serving as a direct object; rather, it is a prepositional phrase that functions as a complement of the verb "think."
Intransitive verbs, like "think," do not transfer the action onto an object. They typically express an action or state that does not require an object to complete the meaning of the sentence. In this sentence, "think" stands alone without directly affecting anything else; it simply expresses the mental activity of most people.
It is worth noting that "think" can also be used transitively in different contexts, where it does take a direct object. For example, in the sentence "She thinks deeply about the problem," "thinks" is a transitive verb because it has a direct object ("deeply about the problem"). But in the original sentence you provided, "think" should be understood as an intransitive verb.