Definition:
An unergative verb is an intransitive verb whose sole argument (subject) is an agent — an entity that intentionally initiates or performs the action. Examples include “run,” “laugh,” “cry,” “work,” and “dance.” The key contrast is with unaccusative verbs, whose subject is a patient/theme rather than an agent.
In-Depth Explanation
The unergative class completes the two-way split of intransitive verbs proposed by Perlmutter (1978):
| Verb Type | Subject Role | Test Question | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unergative | Agent (doer) | “Did the subject do it voluntarily?” → Yes | run, laugh, sneeze, swim, work |
| Unaccusative | Patient (undergoer) | “Did something happen to the subject?” → Yes | arrive, fall, melt, appear, die |
Syntactic diagnostics:
Different languages provide different tests for the unergative/unaccusative split:
- Italian auxiliary selection: Unergatives take “avere” (have): “Ha corso” (he ran). Unaccusatives take “essere” (be): “È arrivato” (he arrived).
- English resultatives: Unaccusatives allow resultatives directly: “The lake froze solid.” Unergatives require a reflexive: “She ran herself ragged.”
- Japanese: Unergative verbs in Japanese typically don’t have transitive/intransitive pair alternations the way unaccusatives do. 走る (hashiru, to run) doesn’t have a transitive counterpart *走す — you can’t “run” someone. Compare with unaccusative 開く (aku, to open) which pairs with transitive 開ける (akeru).
Edge cases:
Some verbs are ambiguous or language-dependent. “Roll” can be unergative (“The boy rolled down the hill” — volitional) or unaccusative (“The ball rolled down the hill” — non-volitional). “Sneeze” is typically unergative (agent-like) even though sneezing isn’t fully voluntary — the body performs the action.
For learners, the practical value is in understanding Japanese transitive/intransitive pairs: if a verb is unergative (agent-subject, volitional), it’s less likely to have a morphologically related transitive partner. If it’s unaccusative (patient-subject, change of state), it very likely has a transitive pair.
Related Terms
See Also
Research
- Perlmutter, D. M. (1978). Impersonal passives and the unaccusative hypothesis. Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, 4, 157–189. — The original intransitive split hypothesis.
- Levin, B., & Rappaport Hovav, M. (1995). Unaccusativity: At the Syntax-Lexical Semantics Interface. MIT Press. — Comprehensive treatment of the unergative/unaccusative distinction.