2.1.1.2. Intransitive predicates: unergatives and unaccusatives
Intransitive predicates take only a single obligatory argument. Although this single argument is always the grammatical subject of a sentence, semantically, it can be a theme or an agent. Predicates with single arguments that are semantic themes are called unaccusative predicates and the sentences they form are called unaccusative sentences. fall is an unaccusative predicate.
table plate wrong fallCL(L):'fall'
‘A plate falls off a table accidentally.’
(Gökgöz in progress )
Some other unaccusative predicates in TİD are:
disappear
break_down
burn
crack
die
feel_dizzy
leak
sink
not_feel_like_doing_sth
pile_up
We talk about weather predicates in [Syntax – 2.1.1.4.]. Most weather predicates do not take a subject but in order to sign ‘It snows’, one needs to express a subject and a predicate. Thus, this specific weather predicate is an intransitive unaccusative one.
white snow pour_down
‘It is snowing.’
When the single argument of an intransitive sentence has an agent theta role, the predicate of the sentence is called an unergative predicate and the sentence an unergative sentence. jump is an unergative predicate.
woman man play 3+3jump
‘A woman and a man are playing and jumping.’
(Gökgöz in progress)
Some other unergative predicates are:
sign_comfortably
swim
run
flee
walk
practice
act_a_role
work
think
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