(grammar) Being or relating to a language where the single argument (subject) of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb.
Used in a Sentence
ergative-absolutive
Definition, parts of speech, synonyms, and sentence examples for ergative-absolutive.
Editorial note
What about languages with ergative-absolutive alignment?
Examples4
Definitions1
Parts of speech1
Quick take
(grammar) Being or relating to a language where the single argument (subject) of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb.
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of ergative-absolutive gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for ergative-absolutive.
adjective
(grammar) Being or relating to a language where the single argument (subject) of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb.
Example sentences
What about languages with ergative-absolutive alignment?
For example, proto-Indo European had Nominative Accusative alignment, and was highly inflected, but modern English is almost completely uninflected, and Hindi has Ergative-Absolutive alignment for some tenses.
I was under the impression that the unification of nominative and accusative case for neuters in Indo-European languages was indeed felt to derive from an ergative-absolutive distinction in proto-Indo-European.
Some of those options people may realize without exposure to the particular languages, but others -- such as, say, ergative-absolutive alignment (not that I'm suggesting that's a good option to use) -- they won't.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use ergative-absolutive in a sentence?
What about languages with ergative-absolutive alignment?
What does ergative-absolutive mean?
(grammar) Being or relating to a language where the single argument (subject) of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb.
What part of speech is ergative-absolutive?
ergative-absolutive is commonly used as adjective.