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ergative
[ ur-guh-tiv ]
adjective
- Grammar.
- (in certain languages, as Basque, Inuit, and some Caucasian languages) noting a case that indicates the subject of a transitive verb and is distinct from the case indicating the subject of an intransitive verb.
- similar to such a case in function or meaning, especially in indicating an agent, as the subject She in She opened the door, in contrast to the subject The door in The door opened.
- Linguistics. pertaining to a type of language that has an ergative case or in which the direct object of a transitive verb has the same form as the subject of an intransitive verb. Compare accusative ( def 2 ).
noun
Grammar.
- the ergative case.
- a word in the ergative case.
- a form or construction of similar function or meaning.
ergative
/ 藞蓽藧伞蓹迟瑟惫 /
adjective
- denoting a type of verb that takes the same noun as either direct object or as subject, with equivalent meaning. Thus, "fuse" is an ergative verb: "He fused the lights" and "The lights fused" have equivalent meaning
- denoting a case of nouns in certain languages, for example, Inuktitut or Basque, marking a noun used interchangeably as either the direct object of a transitive verb or the subject of an intransitive verb
- denoting a language that has ergative verbs or ergative nouns
noun
- an ergative verb
- an ergative noun or case of nouns
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Other 亚洲网紅露点 Forms
- 别谤路驳补路迟颈惫路颈路迟测 [ur-g, uh, -, tiv, -i-tee] noun
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亚洲网紅露点 History and Origins
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亚洲网紅露点 History and Origins
Origin of ergative1
C20: from Greek 别谤驳补迟脓蝉 a workman + -ive
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Example Sentences
Examples have not been reviewed.
Other exceptions to Chomsky鈥檚 theory came from the study of 鈥渆rgative鈥 languages, such as Basque or Urdu, in which the way a sentence subject is used is very different from that in many European languages, again challenging the idea of a universal grammar.
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