Using transitive and intransitive verbs
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Students' problems | page 7 of 8 |
Overuse of passive voice with ergative verbs
Students sometimes have difficulty choosing appropriately between using an ergative verbs 
in the passive and using
the same verb intransitively, ie whether to use a form such as the weights were dropped
or a form such as the weights dropped.
One common error is to overuse the passive with ergative verbs in contexts in which the implication of a causer of the action may not be appropriate:
English
wasdeveloped from Latin, like most other languages in Europe, such as French and Italian. (TeleNex Students)
Expatriate teachers will probably be disappointed when trying to communicate
with students as the English level has been dropped recently. (TeleNex Students)
Most of the films are ended with the
death of people because of drugs. (TeleNex Students)
The following example is also a little odd, and in most contexts the intransitive version would be more likely. In other words we tend to think of the airport as somehow relocating on its own, rather than being physically moved by someone or something:
The airport will be moved to Chek Lap Kok in 1998. (TeleNex Students)
The airport will move to Chek Lap Kok in 1998.
For further information about ergative verbs, see 
Using
transitive and intransitive verbs: Using ergative verbs.
For further information about the use of passive voice and ergative verbs, see Using passive voice: Passive voice with ergative verbs.
Introduction
Overuse of passive voice with ergative verbs
