What does "unaccusative" mean?
An unaccusative verb.
Unaccusative
/ˌʌnəˈkjuːzətɪv/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An unaccusative verb.
- Grammar: unaccusative is listed as adj, noun.
- Useful contrasts: transitive, unergative.
- Usage evidence: The light-verb analysis sketched here also offers us a way of accounting for the fact that in Early Modern English, the perfect auxiliary used with unaccusative verbs was be (as we saw in §7.6), whereas that used with transitive and unergative verbs was have.
How to use "unaccusative"
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- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "unaccusative" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "unaccusative" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Compare nearby meanings
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Definition decision workflow
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 An unaccusative verb.
"We have seen that Unergatives and Unaccusatives differ in 1) permitting the derivation of an Impersonal Passive, and 2) in licensing purpose clauses, since Unergatives have active subjects, and Unaccusatives do not."
Adjective
- 1 Intransitive and having an experiencer as its subject, that is, the (syntactic) subject is not a (semantic) agent. not-comparable
"The light-verb analysis sketched here also offers us a way of accounting for the fact that in Early Modern English, the perfect auxiliary used with unaccusative verbs was be (as we saw in §7.6), whereas that used with transitive and unergative verbs was have."
Antonyms
Example
"The light-verb analysis sketched here also offers us a way of accounting for the fact that in Early Modern English, the perfect auxiliary used with unaccusative verbs was be (as we saw in §7.6), whereas that used with transitive and unergative verbs was have."
Common questions
How do you use "unaccusative" in a sentence?
The light-verb analysis sketched here also offers us a way of accounting for the fact that in Early Modern English, the perfect auxiliary used with unaccusative verbs was be (as we saw in §7.6), whereas that used with transitive and unergative verbs was have.
How do you pronounce "unaccusative"?
Pronounced /ˌʌnəˈkjuːzətɪv/.
Etymology
From un- + accusative, from the fact that in a nominative-accusative language, the accusative case, which marks the direct object of a transitive verb, typically marks the non-volitional role. In unaccusative verbs, the non-volitional arguments do not take the accusative case.