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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

the active or passive voice? any difference?

Hi,

'to drown' vs 'to be drowned'

Following are a couple of example sentences taken from my English textbook:

(1) Many people drowned when the boat overturned.

(2) Jane was drowned in the river.

Looks like this verb can be used and will have the same meaning in either voice?

Can I modify the original sentences as below:

(1) Many people were drowned when the boat overturned

(2) Jane drowned in the river

Are there (can you think of) any other verbs that [like 'to drown'] would "work in exactly the same way" in either voice?

mus-te
  

Top answer

Yes, there are a number of words that work this way; they're called ergative verbs The tree was blown down. The tree blew down. The steak cooked nicely.

— Mister Micawber

  • Yes, there are a number of words that work this way; they're called ergative verbs The tree was blown down.
  • The tree blew down.
  • The steak cooked nicely.
  • The steak was nicely cooked.
  • org/en/english-grammar/verbs/reflexive-and-ergative-verbs
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2 Answers
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Yes, there are a number of words that work this way; they're called ergative verbs

The tree was blown down.
The tree blew down.

The steak cooked nicely.
The steak was nicely cooked.

See here, for instance:
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The active and passive may seem the same, but they are normally used differently.
Used transitively, it implies a killing. Used intransitively, it implies an accident.

Jane was drowned in the river. (She was murdered.)
Jane drowned in the her bathtub. (It was an accidental death.)
Jane drowned her children in the bathtub. (Jane killed her own children.)

The verb also
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