The transient properties of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) with different pump laser energies in a Λ-type three-level system are studied by solving the time-dependent matrix equation. The time evolution of the probe laser absorption, the population of the three levels and the coherent term ρ23 are analyzed. It is shown that transient amplification without inversion can be realized with high pump laser energy and that transient EIT would reduce and transient amplification without inversion would disappear with the decrease of the pump laser energy. Since the probe absorption depends on the product of Rabi frequency of the pump laser and the coherent term ρ23, the nonzero damping coherent term ρ23 results in the transient absorption and amplification without inversion at high pump laser energy, and the decrease of the coherence with the decrease of the pump laser energy leads to the disappearance of the amplification and enhancement of absorption.