Marry (結婚) 可當及物和不及物動詞用，但通常用作及物動詞，後接受詞。Divorce (離婚) 的用法亦同。例如：
- Amy married a wealthy old man last month. (艾美上個月嫁給一個有錢的老頭)
- Last year he divorced his second wife. (去年他跟他第二任太太離婚了)
然而，在正式文體中，它們都用作不及物動詞。例如：
- He did not marry until he was forty. (他直到四十歲才結婚)
- John and Mary divorced two years ago. (約翰和瑪麗兩年前離婚了)
在非正式的口說英語中，若沒有受詞，我們係使用 get married 和 get divorced 來表示「結婚」和「離婚」。例如：
- My son and his girlfriend are getting married in Hawaii. (我兒子和他女友將在夏威夷結婚)
- The couple finally got divorced last year. (那對夫妻去年終於離婚了)
Be married 和 be divorced 可表示結婚和離婚的狀態。例如：
- We’ve been married for nearly 40 years. (他們已結婚快 40 年)
- They’re divorced now. (他們現在已離婚)
Marry 後面不可接 to 或 with 再接結婚對象當受詞。例如：
- Bert married Betty last year. (伯特去年和貝蒂結婚) (正)
- Bert married to Betty last year. (誤)
- Bert married with Betty last year. (誤)
但 get married 和 be married 後面可接 to 再接結婚對象當受詞，只是仍不可接 with。例如：
- Bert got married to Betty last year. (正)
Bert got married with Betty last year. (誤) - Bert’s married to Betty last year. (正)
Bert’s married with Betty last year. (誤)
其實，marry、get married 和 be married 後面都可接 with 再接受詞，只是這裡的受詞並非結婚對象，而是「結婚的產物」，亦即子女。這裡的 with 並非意為「和…」，而是表示「伴隨」的意思。例如：
- Jennifer married/got married/is married with a boy. (珍妮佛已婚，有個兒子) (正) － 這句的意思並非「珍妮佛跟一位男生結婚」。
- Jennifer married/got married/is married with a child. (正)
- Jennifer married/got married/is married with a son. (正)