middle voice: difference between revisions
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==English== |
==English== |
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{{wikipedia}} |
{{wikipedia|voice (grammar)}} |
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===Noun=== |
===Noun=== |
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{{en-noun|- |
{{en-noun|-}} |
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# {{lb|en|grammar}} A [[voice]] that is neither [[active]] nor [[passive]], because the [[subject]] of the [[verb]] cannot be unambiguously categorized as either [[agent]] or [[patient]], having elements of both. |
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# {{context|grammar|lang=en}} The form in which the subject of a verb performs some action upon itself. |
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#* an example that is handled by a reflexive pronoun: |
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#* an example that is not resolved by a reflexive pronoun: |
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#*: [[active voice]]: ''I soaked my clothes in detergent overnight to remove stains.'' |
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#*: [[middle voice]]: ''My clothes soaked in detergent overnight.'' |
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====Usage notes==== |
====Usage notes==== |
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*English has no morphological middle voice category, but does have lexical middle verbs and syntactic middle voice constructions. |
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English once did but no longer has a middle (sometimes called the [[mediopassive]]) voice, but the examples demonstrate how it works. In highly inflected languages like ancient Greek and [[Icelandic]], the middle voice has its own distinct verb form. For English, it is just a grammatical oddity, usually dealt with by the use of a reflexive pronoun.<!-- We might also mention the grammatical notion of [[topic]]; here, Fred is the topic, even though he’s been moved from subjective to objective case and who knows what when dealing with the middle voice.--> |
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** [[active voice]]: ''Dennis broke the window.'' |
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***Example 3 may be considered lexical middle voice because it is a feature of the lexical meaning of the verb ''to break''. Not all verbs can be used this way, e.g., ''The ball kicked'' cannot mean that the ball is the undergoer of the act of kicking. |
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** [[syntactic middle voice]]: ''This Volvo drives like a tank.'' |
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***Example 6 may be called a syntactic middle construction because it requires an adverbial adjunct of some kind. In the example, the adjunct is ''like a tank''. Other examples are: ''These trousers wear well,'' ''This soup eats like a meal'' etc. Without the adjunct, such constructions are odd at best: ''?These trousers wear'', ''?This soup eats''. |
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*In languages with more grammatical categories expressed using verbal morphology (such as [[Sanskrit]], [[Ancient Greek]], and [[Icelandic]]), middle voice can be expressed morphologically using a verbal inflection. English accomplishes the same functions lexically or syntactically, consistent with its general typological characteristics. |
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====Synonyms==== |
====Synonyms==== |
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* [[ |
* [[activo-passive]] |
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* {{l|en|middle}} |
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* {{l|en|mediopassive voice}} |
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====Translations==== |
====Translations==== |
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{{trans-top|grammatical form}} |
{{trans-top|grammatical form}} |
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* Armenian: {{t |
* Armenian: {{t+|hy|չեզոք սեռ}} |
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* Breton: {{t|br|tu-etre|m}} |
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* Chinese: |
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*: Mandarin: {{t|cmn|中間語態|tr=zhōngjiān yǔtài}} |
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* Finnish: {{t+|fi|medium}}, {{t|fi|mediumi}} |
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* French: {{t+|fr|voix moyenne|f}} |
* French: {{t+|fr|voix moyenne|f}} |
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* German: |
* German: {{t+|de|Medium|n}} |
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* Hungarian: {{t|hu|[[mediális]] [[igenem]]}} |
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{{trans-mid}} |
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* Icelandic: {{t+|is|miðmynd|f}} |
* Icelandic: {{t+|is|miðmynd|f}} |
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* Polish: {{t+|pl|medium|n}}, {{t|pl|strona zwrotna|f}} |
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* Portuguese: {{t|pt|voz média|f}} |
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* Romanian: {{t|ro|diateză medială|f}} |
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* Spanish: {{t+|es|voz media|f}} |
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* Welsh: {{t|cy|stâd ganol|f}}, {{t|cy|stâd ganolig|f}} |
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{{trans-bottom}} |
{{trans-bottom}} |
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===See also=== |
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[[ru:middle voice]] |
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* {{l|en|anticausative}} |
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Latest revision as of 12:58, 30 August 2024
English
[edit]
Noun
[edit]- (grammar) A voice that is neither active nor passive, because the subject of the verb cannot be unambiguously categorized as either agent or patient, having elements of both.
Usage notes
[edit]- English has no morphological middle voice category, but does have lexical middle verbs and syntactic middle voice constructions.
- active voice: Dennis broke the window.
- passive voice: The window was broken (by me).
- lexical middle voice: The window broke.
- Example 3 may be considered lexical middle voice because it is a feature of the lexical meaning of the verb to break. Not all verbs can be used this way, e.g., The ball kicked cannot mean that the ball is the undergoer of the act of kicking.
- active voice: I drive this Volvo.
- passive voice: This Volvo is driven (by me).
- syntactic middle voice: This Volvo drives like a tank.
- Example 6 may be called a syntactic middle construction because it requires an adverbial adjunct of some kind. In the example, the adjunct is like a tank. Other examples are: These trousers wear well, This soup eats like a meal etc. Without the adjunct, such constructions are odd at best: ?These trousers wear, ?This soup eats.
- In languages with more grammatical categories expressed using verbal morphology (such as Sanskrit, Ancient Greek, and Icelandic), middle voice can be expressed morphologically using a verbal inflection. English accomplishes the same functions lexically or syntactically, consistent with its general typological characteristics.
Synonyms
[edit]Translations
[edit]grammatical form
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