Ergative verb
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, an ergative verb is a verb
that can be either transitive
or intransitive
, and whose subject
when intransitive corresponds to its direct object
when transitive.
, most verbs can be used intransitively, but ordinarily this does not change the role of the subject; consider, for example, "He ate the soup" (transitive) and "He ate" (intransitive), where the only difference is that the latter does not specify what was eaten. By contrast, with an ergative verb the role of the subject changes; consider "it broke the window" (transitive) and "the window broke" (intransitive).
Ergative verbs can be divided into several categories:
Some of these can be used intransitively in either sense: "I'm cooking the pasta" is fairly synonymous with both "The pasta is cooking" (as an ergative verb) and "I'm cooking", although it obviously gives more information than either.
Unlike a passive verb
, a nominalization
, an infinitive
, or a gerund
, which would allow the agent to be deleted but would also allow it to be included, the intransitive version of an ergative verb requires the agent to be deleted:
Indeed, the intransitive form of an ergative verb almost suggests that there is no agent. With some non-ergative verbs, this can be achieved using the reflexive voice
:
In this case, however, the use of the reflexive voice strongly indicates the lack of an agent; where "John broke the window, or maybe Jack did — at any rate, the window broke" is understandable, if slightly unidiomatic, *"John solved the problem, or maybe Jack did — at any rate, the problem solved itself" is completely self-contradictory. Nonetheless, some grammarians would consider both "The window broke" and "The problem solved itself" to be examples of a distinct voice, the middle voice.
A particularly odd English ergative verb is "graduate": "he graduated from school" and "school graduated him" mean the same thing, although the latter usage has passed out of vogue, and one meets with occasional criticism of the intransitive form. With the latter usage, the verb is transitive, but with the former, the verb is intransitive.
The significance of the ergative verb is that it enables a writer or speaker not only to suppress the identity of the outside agent responsible for the particular process, but also to represent the affected party as in some way causing the action by which it is affected. It can be used by journalists sympathetic to a particular causative agent and wishing to avoid assigning blame, as in "Eight factories have closed this year."
is another language that has them:
More common is the use of the reflexive form of the verb to express the anticausative meaning.
Further, verbs analogous to English cook have even more possibities, even allowing a causative construction to substitute for the transitive form of the verb:
, ergative verbs are used in a way similar to English, but they stand out as more distinct particularly in the perfect tenses.
In the present, the usage in both languages is similar, for example:
However, there are cases where the two languages deviate. For example, the verb zinken (to sink) cannot be used transitively, nor the verb openen (to open) intransitively:
and
In this last case, one could say: "De deur gaat open." (lit. The door goes open").
A difference between Dutch and English is that typically the perfect tenses of infinitives take zijn (to be) as their auxiliary rather than hebben (to have), and this extends to these verbs as well.
Something similar happens with compound verbs like gewaarworden: to become aware of something. It is a separable compound of worden (become), which is a typical 'process'-verb. It is usually considered a copula, rather than an ergative, but these two group of verbs are related. For example, copulas usually take to be in the perfect as well. A verb like blijven is used both as a copula and as an ergative and all its compounds (nablijven, bijblijven, aanblijven etc.) are ergatives.
Gewaarworden can take two objects a reflexive indirect one and one that could be called a causative object. In many languages causative object would take a case like the genitive, but in Dutch this is no longer the case:
The perfect usually takes to be regardless of the objects:
does have a few ergative verbs, due in part to calque
s from other languages; nonetheless, it has fewer ergative verbs than English, in part because it has a fairly productive causative construction and partly distinct mediopassive
constructions. For example, the verbs שָׁבַר [ʃaˈvaʁ] (active) and נִשְׁבַּר [niʃˈbaʁ] (its mediopassive counterpart) both mean to break, but the former is transitive (as in "He broke the window") and the latter is intransitive (as in "The window broke"). Similarly, the verbs לַעֲבֹר [laʕaˈvoʁ] (active) and לְהַעֳבִיר [ləhaʕaˈviʁ] (its causative counterpart) both mean to pass, but the former is intransitive (as in "He passed by Susan") and the latter is transitive (as in "He passed the salt to Susan")
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, an ergative verb is a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
that can be either transitive
Transitive verb
In syntax, a transitive verb is a verb that requires both a direct subject and one or more objects. The term is used to contrast intransitive verbs, which do not have objects.-Examples:Some examples of sentences with transitive verbs:...
or intransitive
Intransitive verb
In grammar, an intransitive verb is a verb that has no object. This differs from a transitive verb, which takes one or more objects. Both classes of verb are related to the concept of the transitivity of a verb....
, and whose subject
Subject (grammar)
The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...
when intransitive corresponds to its direct object
Object (grammar)
An object in grammar is part of a sentence, and often part of the predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. Basically, it is what or whom the verb is acting upon...
when transitive.
In English
In EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, most verbs can be used intransitively, but ordinarily this does not change the role of the subject; consider, for example, "He ate the soup" (transitive) and "He ate" (intransitive), where the only difference is that the latter does not specify what was eaten. By contrast, with an ergative verb the role of the subject changes; consider "it broke the window" (transitive) and "the window broke" (intransitive).
Ergative verbs can be divided into several categories:
- Verbs suggesting a change of state — break, burst, form, heal, melt, tear, transform
- Verbs of cooking — bake, boil, cook, fry
- Verbs of movement — move, shake, sweep, turn, walk
- Verbs involving vehicles — drive, fly, reverse, run, sail
Some of these can be used intransitively in either sense: "I'm cooking the pasta" is fairly synonymous with both "The pasta is cooking" (as an ergative verb) and "I'm cooking", although it obviously gives more information than either.
Unlike a passive verb
English passive voice
The passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject of a sentence or clause denotes the recipient of the action rather than the performer...
, a nominalization
Nominalization
In linguistics, nominalization or nominalisation is the use of a verb, an adjective, or an adverb as the head of a noun phrase, with or without morphological transformation...
, an infinitive
Infinitive
In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives...
, or a gerund
Gerund
In linguistics* As applied to English, it refers to the usage of a verb as a noun ....
, which would allow the agent to be deleted but would also allow it to be included, the intransitive version of an ergative verb requires the agent to be deleted:
- "The window was broken" or "The window was broken by the burglar."
- "[…] to break the window […]" or "[…] for the burglar to break the window […]"
- "[…] the breaking of the window […]" or "[…] the breaking of the window by the burglar […]"
- "The window broke" but not *"The window broke by the burglar."
Indeed, the intransitive form of an ergative verb almost suggests that there is no agent. With some non-ergative verbs, this can be achieved using the reflexive voice
Reflexive verb
In grammar, a reflexive verb is a verb whose semantic agent and patient are the same. For example, the English verb to perjure is reflexive, since one can only perjure oneself...
:
- "He solved the problem."
- "The problem was solved" or "The problem was solved by him."
- "The problem solved itself" but not *"The problem solved itself by him."
In this case, however, the use of the reflexive voice strongly indicates the lack of an agent; where "John broke the window, or maybe Jack did — at any rate, the window broke" is understandable, if slightly unidiomatic, *"John solved the problem, or maybe Jack did — at any rate, the problem solved itself" is completely self-contradictory. Nonetheless, some grammarians would consider both "The window broke" and "The problem solved itself" to be examples of a distinct voice, the middle voice.
A particularly odd English ergative verb is "graduate": "he graduated from school" and "school graduated him" mean the same thing, although the latter usage has passed out of vogue, and one meets with occasional criticism of the intransitive form. With the latter usage, the verb is transitive, but with the former, the verb is intransitive.
The significance of the ergative verb is that it enables a writer or speaker not only to suppress the identity of the outside agent responsible for the particular process, but also to represent the affected party as in some way causing the action by which it is affected. It can be used by journalists sympathetic to a particular causative agent and wishing to avoid assigning blame, as in "Eight factories have closed this year."
In French
English is not the only language with ergative verbs; indeed, they are a feature of many languages. FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
is another language that has them:
- "Il tourne la tête." ("He turns his head.")
- "Sa tête tourne." ("His head turns.")
More common is the use of the reflexive form of the verb to express the anticausative meaning.
- "J'ouvre la porte." ("I open the door.")
- "La porte s'ouvre." ("The door opens itself", i.e. "The door opens.")
Further, verbs analogous to English cook have even more possibities, even allowing a causative construction to substitute for the transitive form of the verb:
- "Je cuis les pâtes." ("I cook the pasta.")
- "Je cuis." ("I cook", i.e. either "I cook [something]" or e.g. "It's so hot in here, I'm practically roasting.")
- "Je fais cuire les pâtes." (lit., "I make cook the pasta", i.e. "I make the pasta cook", i.e. "I cook the pasta.")
- "Les pâtes cuisent." ("The pasta cooks.")
In Dutch
In DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, ergative verbs are used in a way similar to English, but they stand out as more distinct particularly in the perfect tenses.
In the present, the usage in both languages is similar, for example:
- "Jan breekt zijn glas." ("John breaks his glass.")
- "Het glas breekt." ("The glass breaks.")
However, there are cases where the two languages deviate. For example, the verb zinken (to sink) cannot be used transitively, nor the verb openen (to open) intransitively:
- "Het schip zonk." ("The ship sank.")
- Not *"De marine zonk het schip." (Unlike "The navy sank the ship.")
and
- "Jan opent de deur." ("John opens the door.")
- Not *"De deur opent." (Unlike "The door opens.")
In this last case, one could say: "De deur gaat open." (lit. The door goes open").
A difference between Dutch and English is that typically the perfect tenses of infinitives take zijn (to be) as their auxiliary rather than hebben (to have), and this extends to these verbs as well.
- present: "Het glas breekt." ("The glass breaks.")
- perfect: "Het glas is gebroken." ("The glass has broken.")
Perfect ergative innocence
Ergatives are verbs of innocence, because they imply the absence of an actor who could possibly be blamed. This association is quite strong in Dutch and speakers tend to treat verbs like forgetting and losing as ergatives in the perfect tenses even though they typically have a direct object and are really transitive verbs. It is not unusual to hear sentences like:- Ik ben mijn boek vergeten. - I forgot my book (and it just 'happened to me: there is no actor).
- Ik ben mijn geld verloren. - I lost my money (poor me).
Something similar happens with compound verbs like gewaarworden: to become aware of something. It is a separable compound of worden (become), which is a typical 'process'-verb. It is usually considered a copula, rather than an ergative, but these two group of verbs are related. For example, copulas usually take to be in the perfect as well. A verb like blijven is used both as a copula and as an ergative and all its compounds (nablijven, bijblijven, aanblijven etc.) are ergatives.
Gewaarworden can take two objects a reflexive indirect one and one that could be called a causative object. In many languages causative object would take a case like the genitive, but in Dutch this is no longer the case:
- Ik werd me dat gewaar - I became aware of that.
The perfect usually takes to be regardless of the objects:
- Ik ben me dat niet gewaargeworden. - (roughly) I did not catch on to that.
In Hebrew
HebrewHebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
does have a few ergative verbs, due in part to calque
Calque
In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation.-Calque:...
s from other languages; nonetheless, it has fewer ergative verbs than English, in part because it has a fairly productive causative construction and partly distinct mediopassive
Mediopassive voice
The mediopassive voice is a grammatical voice which subsumes the meanings of both the middle voice and the passive voice.Languages of the Indo-European family typically have two or three voices of the three: active, middle, and passive. "Mediopassive" may be used to describe a category that covers...
constructions. For example, the verbs שָׁבַר [ʃaˈvaʁ] (active) and נִשְׁבַּר [niʃˈbaʁ] (its mediopassive counterpart) both mean to break, but the former is transitive (as in "He broke the window") and the latter is intransitive (as in "The window broke"). Similarly, the verbs לַעֲבֹר [laʕaˈvoʁ] (active) and לְהַעֳבִיר [ləhaʕaˈviʁ] (its causative counterpart) both mean to pass, but the former is intransitive (as in "He passed by Susan") and the latter is transitive (as in "He passed the salt to Susan")
See also
- Unaccusative verbUnaccusative verbIn linguistics, an unaccusative verb is an intransitive verb whose subject is not a agent; that is, it does not actively initiate, or is not actively responsible for, the action of the verb. Unaccusative verbs thus contrast with unergative verbs...
- Unergative verbUnergative verbAn unergative verb is an intransitive verb distinguished semantically by having an agent subject. For example, in English, run, talk and resign are unergative verbs ....
- Accusative verbAccusative verbAn accusative verb is a verb that can be used transitively or intransitively, with the subject of the transitive verb becoming the argument of the intransitive verb. Some examples in English are eat, see, win.-See also:*Unaccusative verb...
- Ambitransitive verbAmbitransitive verbAn ambitransitive verb is a verb that can be used both as intransitive or as transitive without requiring a morphological change. That is, the same verb form may or may not require a direct object. English has a large number of ambitransitive verbs; examples include read, break, and understand An...
External links
- Ideas for Teaching Ergative Verbs to ESL Students
- Wiktionary's "English ergative verbs" category