[Grammar] The book reads well, or How to recognize the Active and the Passive??

[TheParser]

This has been a fantastic thread.

But I still do not know whether "Store doors open every day at 8 a.m." is

a middle or an ergative verb.

Could someone give us THE ("thee") answer?

THANK YOU very much.

 

[BobK]

Not me

But the example of store doors opening put me in mind of a bit of theatrical jargon that confuses things even further! The common occurence of the curtain 'going up' at the beginnning of a theatrical performance has given rise to the use of 'go up' to mean 'start': 'When does the show go up?

b

 

[Soup]

But I still do not know whether "Store doors open every day at 8 a.m." is a middle or an ergative verb.

Take a look here (Scroll down to the 3rd post, by Paco2004).


_________________________
The door opens easily. middle
The door opens. ergative

 

[BookAddict]

The door opens -> verbs used as reflexive verbs. To support this idea I would mention some examples in a couple of languages

French: la porte s'ouvre
German: die Tur offnet sich
Slovak: dvere sa otvaraju
the same in Russian, Spanish, Czech, Polish

Some Old and Middle English verbs were reflexive:
He needs him a book
He feels himself well (reflexive in French, German, Slovak ...)

If these verbs are 'middle' or 'ergative', they are also reflexive, transitive and intransitive

 

[TheParser]

Take a look here (Scroll down to the 3rd post, by Paco2004).


_________________________
The door opens easily. middle
The door opens. ergative

Wow!!! What a sensational link. Thank you for giving us such a

sumptuous intellectual feast.

 

[Soup]

If these verbs are 'middle' or 'ergative', they are also reflexive, ... .

A wonderful topic. Whether or not middle verbs and ergative verbs are inherently reflexive seems to depend on meaning:

1. The door opens easily all by itself.
2. The book reads easily *all by itself.
3. The store opens (*itself) at 8 a.m.
4. The electronic doors open (themselves) at 8 a.m.

See also Keyser, Samuel J. and Thonas Roeper 1984. On the Middle and Ergative Constructions in English. Linguistic Inquiry 15:381-416
​

Note, French has reflexive ergatives and non-reflexive ergatives:

Reflexive ergative
Le vase se brise (the vase breaks)

Nonreflexive ergative
La neige fond (the snow melts)
​

Source: Sorace, A. 2000. Gradients in Auxiliary Selection with Intransitive Verbs. Language 76:859-890
​

______________
See also Reflexive Constructions in English

 

[Soup]

Wow!!! What a sensational link. Thank you for giving us such a sumptuous intellectual feast.

You are most welcome. Paco's posts were/are always a fabulous source of information. He was well read (ambiguity intended). ;-)

Have you read this as well?