出典:Wiktionary
出典:『Wiktionary』 (2025/11/01 19:18 UTC 版)
From Ancient Greek ἐργᾰ́της (ergắtēs, “labourer, worker”) + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘belong or relating to; of the nature of; serving to; tending to’ forming adjectives).
| Example (English) |
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Compare these two sentences: A. Jill rolled the ball down the hill. Sentence A is a transitive structure, while sentence B is an ergative structure. The ergative subject of sentence B (“the ball”) has a transitive counterpart in sentence A, where it is the object. The sentences also show that roll is an ergative verb. It is used intransitively in sentence B to indicate that the ball moved, whereas in sentence A it is used transitively – the same thing happens to the ball, but the sentence identifies Jill as the agent who has caused the ball to move. |
ergative (not comparable)
ergative (plural ergatives)