Valency: The Chemistry of Verbs
Think of verbs like atoms in a chemistry lab: just as atoms bond with a specific number of electrons, verbs bond with a specific number of participants (arguments) to create…
Tag: transitivity
The Specificity Key: Hungarian’s Definite Conjugation
In English, "I see a dog" and "I see the dog" use the same verb form, but in Hungarian, the verb itself changes based on whether the object is specific…
The Agent and the Patient: How Transitivity Shapes Blame and Responsibility
Who broke the window? The choice between saying "The boy broke the window" and "The window broke" is more than just grammar. This linguistic feature, known as transitivity, profoundly shapes…