middle verb
noun1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A verb which expresses an action when used transitively and a state when used intransitively.
- Formation of the middle verbs mentioned above illustrates that derivational processes are used to create specific subclasses of verbs. Middle verbs in English are intransitive verbs, whereas their base verbs are transitive, that is, require a direct object to be present. Middle verb formation is therefore a case of change in syntactic valency.2005, Geert Booij, The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 60:
- Related terms
- middle voice