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KhoshtipMan Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Verbs

Ergative verbs are both transitive and intransitive. But is the story still right vice versa? That is, verbs that are both transitive and intransitive are ergative verbs as well.
  

Top answer

No. John is singing. Intransitive.

  • No.
  • John is singing.
  • Intransitive.
  • John is singing a song.
  • Transitive.
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9 Answers
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No.

John is singing. Intransitive.
John is singing a song. Transitive.
The song sings well.
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So what means can a non-native speaker use to determine which is ergative or not? As far as I know there isn't any complete list of such verbs for memorizing.
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There is no way of knowing in advance.Non-native speakers just have to learn each one as they meet it. You'll find quite a few here.
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KhoshtipManAs far as I know there isn't any complete list of such verbs for memorizing.
Here's a list of 323, but I don't see any point in memorizing them.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_ergative_verbs

CJ
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CalifJim 323
I had no idea there were that many. The things one can learn at EF!
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Tow questions:
1- Isn't there any online dictionary to declare which verb is ergative and which is not?
2- Is each native speaker aware of all or most of all ergative verbs?

PS: I chose the one on British Council for now.
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KhoshtipMan Isn't there any online dictionary to declare which verb is ergative and which is not?
Not that I know of, though example sentences in some will illustrate the ways in which individual verbs can be used.
KhoshtipMan Is each native speaker aware of all or most of all ergative verbs?
Most native speakers will know i
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fivejedjonMost native speakers will know if a particular verb can be used ergatively. I would guess that fewer than 1% of native speakers know the word 'ergative' and fewer than 0.01% could list more than a couple of dozen.
Your sentence is equivocal for me. Do you mean they know how to use all the verbs (including ergative ones) but can't list a large number
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It is impossible to say how many verbs native speakers know, or how many ways of using them they know.

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