ergative verb
Noun
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Noun
ergative verb (plural ergative verbs)
- (linguistics) An ambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use.
- Break is an ergative verb because when we say "The window broke", the window is the thing getting broken, it is not the vandal.
- Although it is both transitive and intransitive, paint is not an ergative verb, because when we say "Bob paints", this is very different from when we say "Bob gets painted".
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