Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Whitehead  In short, 'reads' is always an action, and needs a subject to perform it - 'reads' has to be done. |
The
actor is left unstated, but it
is there:
Mediopassive
Ex: This bread cuts easily (for
me) ~ It can be cut ~ It's cutable.
Ex: This book reads well (for
me) ~ It can be read ~ It's readable.
Thomas Stroik on 'Middles and Reflexivity' in
Linguistic Inquiry (MIT Press Journals, Winter 1999, Vol. 30, No. 1, Pages 119-131) proposes,
"middle verbs, like passive verbs, project the external (Agent) arguments of their active counterparts as adjuncts. These demoted Agent arguments can appear, in middle constructions, as the objects of for-PPs."
In sum,
This book reads well (for me) ~ It can be read (by me) ~ It's readable (for me).
Quick note, I don't get how 'wash' is 'a happening' and 'read' is not. I get the coined noun phase 'a happening'; I don't get how 'wash' is different from 'read' here:
The book washes well ~ It's washable.
The book reads well ~ It's readable.
All the best.
