a continuum of transitivity

Transitive verbs co-occur with agent, instrument, causer, and experiencer subjects, but not with patient subjects and empty it. 

Linguist Paul Hopper and Sandra Thompson (1980) have argued that transitivity is a continuum and that the degree of transitivity includes a number of factors, including the "agentiveness" of the subject and the "affectedness" of the object. All of the sentences below are technically transitive but the degree of transitivity diminishes with each successive sentences:

Cameron smashed the truck.
Nikki read a comic book.
The baby likes cookies.