0 used to refer to a verb that can be transitive (= used with an object) or intransitive (= used without an object), with the object of the transitive verb used as the subject of the intransitive verb. For example, close is an ergative verb (I closed the door| The door closed):
Ergative verbs are both transitive and intransitive.
Grammatical features such as ergative pronouns can be detected.
Ergative is the case marking transitive subject.
1 an ergative verb:
He told me these unusual-looking grammatical patterns I had uncovered were ergative.
No African language is known to have ergative characteristics.
Ergatives can be used transitively (The storm sank the ship) as well as intransitively (The ship sank).
In English, the object of an ergative has to be moved to subject position.
In ergative- absolutive languages, the lowest nonoblique argument gets absolutive and the next lowest gets ergative.
The explanation of ergative-absolutive and nominative-accusative alignment is clear.
The formal hierarchy is based on the morphological complexity of the marking : nominative\absolutive accusative\ergative dative\other oblique adposition (436).
