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Kenny1999 Posted 5 years ago
Grammar

"sell" or "is sold"? I really need a serious lesson

I know that the verb "sell" can have many different forms. I used to believe that someone sells something and something is sold by someone.

However, later I got to know that something can "sell", without having to be passive.

It's so confusing to me, as a non-English native.

Can anyone tell me in details about this word, seems like it's a lot more complicated than I thought

  

Top answer

kenny1999 However, later I got to know that something can "sell", without having to be passive. That is merely the intransitive use. Many verbs do that.

— Anonymous

  • kenny1999 However, later I got to know that something can "sell", without having to be passive.
  • That is merely the intransitive use.
  • Many verbs do that.
  • Transitive then intransitive: The pirate fired the cannon.
  • The cannon fired with a roar.
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3 Answers
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kenny1999However, later I got to know that something can "sell", without having to be passive.

That is merely the intransitive use. Many verbs do that. Transitive then intransitive:

The pirate fired the cannon. The cannon fired with a roar.

The pilot flew the airplane. The airplane flew across the sky.

The chef baked the pie. The pie baked

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This is demonstrating the verb "sell" as an ergative verb.

Here is a detailed article on ergative verbs.

https://www.thoughtco.com/ergative-grammar-term-1690608

Both of these are common, but #2 and #3 are more from the realtor's perspective and #1 is from the o

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kenny1999However, later I got to know found out that something can "sell", without having to be passive.

'found out' is more idiomatic than 'got to know' even though both are correct.

You will hear that usage also called the "middle voice" or the "middle construction", most likely to indicate it's

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