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Intransitive vs Unaccusative - What's the difference?

intransitive | unaccusative | Hyponyms |

Intransitive is a hyponym of unaccusative.


As adjectives the difference between intransitive and unaccusative

is that intransitive is (grammar|of a verb) not transitive: not having, or not taking, a direct object while unaccusative is (linguistics|of a verb) intransitive and having an experiencer as its subject, that is, the (syntactic) subject is not a (semantic) agent.

As a noun unaccusative is

(linguistics) an unaccusative verb.

intransitive

English

Adjective

(-)
  • (grammar, of a verb) Not transitive: not having, or not taking, a direct object.
  • The word "drink" is a transitive verb in "they drink wine", but an intransitive one in "they drink often."
  • (rare) Not transitive or passing further; kept; detained.
  • And then it is for the image's sake and so far is intransitive ; but whatever is paid more to the image is transitive and passes further. — Jeremy Taylor.

    Antonyms

    * transitive

    See also

    * ergative ----

    unaccusative

    English

    (Unaccusative verb)

    Adjective

    (-)
  • (linguistics, of a verb) Intransitive and having an experiencer as its subject, that is, the (syntactic) subject is not a (semantic) agent.
  • Antonyms

    * unergative * transitive

    Hyponyms

    * intransitive

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (linguistics) An unaccusative verb.
  • * 1998 , Eloise Jelinek, Voice and Transitivity as Functional Projections in Yaqui , in Miriam Butt and Wilhelm Geuder, eds., “The Projection of Arguments”
  • We have seen that Unergatives and Unaccusatives' differ in 1) permitting the derivation of an Impersonal Passive, and 2) in licensing purpose clauses, since Unergatives have active subjects, and ' Unaccusatives do not.

    Antonyms

    * unergative

    References

    * “unaccusative verb” in the Lexicon of Linguistics (Utrecht institute of Linguistics)