1. He planned hard to go on a trip.

2. He planned very hard to go on a trip.
(Are both grammatical? Is 'planned' an a transitive or an intransitive verb?)

3. He hoped earnestly to go abroad.
4. He hoped very earnestly to go abroad.
5. He hoped to go abroad earnestly.
6. He hoped to go abroad very earnestly.
(Are they all grammatical? Is 'hoped' used as a transitive verb or an intransitive verb? Thank you.)

3 answers

1-2. "planned" is intransitive.
It would be better to use "carefully" rather than "hard" in this context.

3 and 4 are fine; 5 and 6 are not. The adverb needs to be as close to the verb as possible, or you'll end up with a misplaced modifier.

Verbs that have direct objects are transitive.
Verbs that do not have direct objects are intransitive.
What do you think about "hoped"?
Thank you....Is it a transitive verb?
"hoped" has no direct object, so it's intransitive.