Meanings
plural ergative verbs
- human sciencesAn 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.
2 more examples
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".
Consultation of a corpus of authentic English solved the problem, as clarify was found being used transitively in examples such as She clarified the situation and intransitively in examples such as The situation clarified, and could thus be classified as an ergative verb.
2000, Susan Hunston, Gill Francis, Pattern GrammarSynonyms: labile verb
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn ambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 作格動詞 /作格动词
- 作格動詞 /作格动词 (zuògé dòngcí)ambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
Finnish ergatiivinen verbi
- ergatiivinen verbiambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
Polish ergatyw, ergativus
- ergatywambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
- ergativusambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
Portuguese verbo ergativo, verbo inacusativo
- verbo ergativoambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
- verbo inacusativoambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
Spanish ergativo, ambitransitivo
- ergativoambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
- ambitransitivoambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
- inacusativoambitransitive verb where the patient is the object of the transitive, but becomes the experiencer of the intransitive use
Cite this entry
ergative verb. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergative%20verb
“ergative verb.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergative%20verb. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ergative verb,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ergative%20verb.
Source: ergative verb on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.