unergative

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unergative

/ʌnˈɜːɡətɪv/ UK
/ʌnˈɝɡətɪv/ US

Where it comes from

From un- + ergative, from the fact that in an ergative-absolutive language, the only case which uniquely identifies a volitional argument is the ergative case, which marks the agent of a transitive verb.

adjective

not comparable, of a verb Intransitive and having an agent as its subject. In Section 1 I will discuss the existence of a class of ergative adjectives in Dutch[…]. It will be demonstrated that there are a number of arguments supporting the claim that the class of adjectives should be divided into ergative and unergative adjectives. A large number of adjectives that are une

Opposite: unaccusative, transitive

noun unergatives

An unergative 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

Opposite: unaccusative

Thesaurus

adjective

Opposite: unaccusative, transitive

noun

Opposite: unaccusative

Translations

Every language

adj intransitive and having an agent as its subject

Español	inergativo

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MLA

"unergative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/unergative. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

unergative. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/unergative

Chicago

"unergative." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/unergative.

BibTeX

@misc{unergative_2026,
  title = {unergative},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/unergative},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}