Using transitive and intransitive verbs
|
Using ergative verbs | page 4 of 10 |
Areas of meaning with ergative verbs
Ergative verbs can be classified according to different areas of meaning, many of which involve some kind of change - often from one state to another, as in this example where the change of state is from heavy wind to light wind:
As soon as we left Tong Fuk it started to rain and the wind faded, and we were sailing only at about five knots, as if we were sitting there.
(SCMP 8/6/92)
The following verbs are related to change in general 
:
|
Besides change in general, ergative verbs also fall into categories such as starting and stopping, increasing and decreasing, and change related to physical damage. Other areas of meaning are food preparation, household cleaning, movement in general and movement of vehicles - all of which involve a change of state.
Note that a small number of ergative verbs are almost always followed by an
adverbial 
because the emphasis is normally on how well or badly the subject is affected:
The boat handles extremely well most of the time. (Bank of English)
... books which sell like hot cakes. (Microconcord Corpus A)
My fingertips slowly stained a bruised-looking color I couldn't lick off.
(Bank of English)
Here is a list of ergative verbs which are typically followed by an adverbial:
|
If you would like further, more in-depth information about ergative verbs in general, see Sinclair, J. (ed) (1990) Grammar Patterns 1: Verbs. Harper Collins, pp 474-517.
Introduction
Areas of meaning with ergative verbs
