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Jooney Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Causative/inchoactive alternation

Hi,

ex)

A: Janet broke the cup.

B: The cup broke.



A: He tore the shirt.

B: The shirt tore.



I believe A's and B's are identical in meaning. My question is what prompts you to use A's over B's or vice versa.

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
  

Top answer

As with passive voice, we hide the agent when we wish to.

— Mister Micawber

  • As with passive voice, we hide the agent when we wish to.
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4 Answers
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As with passive voice, we hide the agent when we wish to.
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I see. Thank you Mr. M.Emotion: smile
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The (good) book "Zero Syntax" by Pesetsky is devoted to the understanding of causative constructions.

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I am not sure that my suggestion was accepted, sorry if I repeat myself. I would recommend the book "Zero Syntax" by Pesetsky. The whole book is the answer to your question. Congrats for your syntactic smell.

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