Thank you Casiopea,
I'm just not really sure about the difference between the ergative verb and the middle voice.
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."
e.g.:
The window broke. Intransitive verb, the subject is "
the window"
He broke the window. Transitive verb, "
the window" becames direct object.
(from
wikipedia)
While the middle voice is "
an intransitive verb that appears active but expresses a passive action"
e.g.:
The casserole cooked in the oven
(
wikipedia).
Can't a verb be either ergative and a middle voice?
The sentence
The house burnt down may be ergative since the subject
The house becames a direct object when a transitive verb is used, as in
He burnt the house down.
But it can also be a middle voice since the verb
burnt expresses a passive action.
The house burnt down =
The house was burnt down.
Am I wrong? I really can't see a clear difference between them.
Why is the same verb ergative when it is used in the simple present and a middle voice when it is used in the simple past?