Using transitive and intransitive verbs

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Ergative verbs related to physical damage

Some ergative verbs can be classified under the area of physical damage:

The skin will burst and make it easy to remove. (Bank of English)

Now, if one of the links in that chain goes "ping" and breaks, it's a real old disaster. (Bank of English)

The following verbs are related to physical damage:

    bend     break     burn     burst
    crack     shatter     split     stick
    tear

04conten.gif (549 bytes) Introduction
04conten.gif (549 bytes) A definition of ergative verbs
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Reasons for using ergative verbs
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Areas of meaning with ergative verbs
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Ergative verbs related to starting and stopping
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Ergative verbs related to increasing and decreasing
square.gif (58 bytes) Ergative verbs related to physical damage
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Ergative verbs related to food preparation
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Ergative verbs related to household cleaning
04conten.gif (549 bytes) Ergative verbs related to movement in general