COM B - LET'S MEDDLE WITH THE MIDDLE! by Gramática Contrastiva https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap Just click on the (+) and insert your answer en-us 2020-09-28 13:18:15 UTC 2026-01-12 22:38:24 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f4aa.png Group 3: Casamayor, Dagum Leguizamon, Gelos florenciacasamayor98 https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/797551337
 e. Bob tested his bedroom window to make sure it opens easily.   

This sentence is acceptable because it complies with the requirements of a middle construction in English. This middle construction derives from a basic counterpart in the active voice, therefore, it is a derived construction (Yip, 1994). The verb ‘‘open’’, which is an intransitive, ergative (or unaccusative) verb appears in its active morphology (not in its participial form). The syntactic subject “it”, whose thematic role is theme/patient, is non-agentive because it is the internal argument selected for by the verb. There is an implicit agent:“Bob”. The middle requires the presence of a modifier which, in this case, is the adverbial “easily”. The presence of this adverbial emphasizes the property that the syntactic subject (theme/patient) is associated with. 

f. The pasta is cooking by the chef.

The sentence is not acceptable because middle constructions do not allow for agents to appear explicitly, since the verb “cook” is an ergative verb that expresses a change of state. That is, the agent argument in the English middle construction cannot be lexicalized by means of the phrase “by the chef” in the surface structure. Thus, this sentence combines structures of middle voice and passive voice, which is ungrammatical. The subject, whose theta role is patient, corresponds, according to Stalmaszczyk (1993), to the logical object of the verb. Possible grammatical options are “The chef is cooking the pasta” or “The pasta is cooking”.


]]> 2020-10-02 13:31:34 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/797551337 https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/800088122 2020-10-03 20:49:11 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/800088122 Please take a look at comments 1, 2 and 3. The grammatical structure that predominates is the passive reflexive with SE.ML(1) (SE como signo de pasiva refleja). For instance, in the case of se cultivan, se colocan, or se hacen, the agent is implicit, and they are transitive verbs describing a process(2). Furthermore, their subject fulfills the thematic role of patient, which would be celulas eucariotas. In the case of permitirse, it functions in the same way as the rest of them, yet, it is understood that it is a neutral verb(3), which means it could be transitive or intransitive, depending on the context it is used in. grcontrastiva https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/806288025 1) ML Note you can talk about "Pasivas con Se" or “Pasivas reflejas". Or call them "SE Passives" in English but be consistent

2) You are touching upon the reason here (the answer to the second “why” question). In line with the rhetoric of science (impersonality, the so-called scientific neutrality) the focus is on the action/process itself and not on the agent performing the action.

3) What do you mean by the category "neutral verb"? All verbs are employed in a specific context, there is not such occasion of a use that is neither transitive nor intransitive. In general, grammars take the transitive, active, form as the unmarked, more basic, use of a verb. If the same verb may be employed in a passive construction or intransitively, these variants are considered derived, non canonical, marked.



]]> 2020-10-06 11:50:54 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/806288025 Pousa, Manuel. Ramallo Guala, María Sol. Soba, Marianela. solramalloguala https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/808884623 Glass that cuts well will decrease your production time: the first sentence is acceptable since the relative clause “that cuts well” presents the typical characteristics of middle constructions. It has a verb (cut) with active morphology, which derives from a transitive verb (e.g. in “Somebody cuts the glass”), the subject "that"(which stands for glass) is the object of the logical form of the verb, it is a nonagentive subject and its thematic role is theme/patient, and the verb is not eventive but represents a general characteristic (that of being easily cut) attributed to “glass.” It is also acconpanied by the adverb "well" which gives the construction the middle interpretation.
The second sentence is possible since it is a typical case of passive voice; there is an implicit agent that is moving the office to another location. The office is the subject of the sentence, the auxiliary verb "was" plus the verb "moved" in the past participle, and the complement "to another location" functioning as a cirumstancial of place.]]> 2020-10-07 01:47:57 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/808884623 Benegas, Mariana. Defagot, Denise. Pandolfi, Agostina https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811502369 Both sentences are acceptable as middle constructions in English since in both of them the thematic role of theme/patient is realized non canonically by their syntactic subjects “she” and “it” respectively; consequently, they are non-agentive, the agentive verbs “photograph” and “build” show active morphology as they were an unmarked transitive use and whose inherent meanings select for an argument of agent that is implicit and of arbitrary interpretation and, finally, the adverb “well” present in each sentence attributes a property to the entities denoted in the subjects facilitating the situations represented in the verbs. In Sentence “a” the agentive verb “photograph” is stativized; therefore, it denotes a non-eventive, generic or habitual situation, which is characteristic of middle constructions in English; but also, according to González Romero’s (1996) “Construcciones medias en inglés y en español”, verbs such as “build” can appear in middle constructions denoting accomplishments, events with limited duration, such as in sentence “b”.]]> 2020-10-07 18:44:47 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811502369 Thank you for meddling! grcontrastiva https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811653819 Good job on analyzing sentence c. Just note it should be non agentive (or non-agentive) and accompanied (not acconpanied)]]> 2020-10-07 19:33:48 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811653819 Re: sentence d, take a look at the comments (1, 2 and 3) grcontrastiva https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811660663 The second sentence is possible since it is a typical case of passive voice(1); there is an implicit agent that is moving the office to another location. The office is the subject of the sentence, the auxiliary verb "was" plus the verb "moved" in the past participle *form(2), and the complement "to another location" functioning as a circunstancial(3) of place.

1) Right and you can be more specific and say participial passive voice (to be+past participle)
2) Note *form was added. You need a noun here (you cannot simply say "past participle")
3) Ideally, as you are analyzing and English sentence you can call this this (place) adjunct or adverbial. We speak of "circunstanciales" in Spanish. In any case, note the spelling should be "circumstantial".

]]> 2020-10-07 19:36:02 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/811660663 Thank you for meddling! Please take a look at the comments below. grcontrastiva https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/818607471 Both sentences are acceptableX(incorrect) as middle constructions in English since in both of them the thematic role of theme/patient is realized non canonically by their syntactic subjects “she” and “it” respectively; consequently, they are non-agentive, the agentive verbs “photograph” and “build” show active morphology as they wereLG an unmarked transitive use and whose inherent meanings select for an argument of agentML that is implicit and of arbitrary interpretation and, finally, the adverb “well” present in each sentence attributes a property to the entities denoted in the subjects facilitating the situations represented in the verbs. In Sentence “a” the agentive verb “photograph” is stativized; therefore, it denotes a non-eventive, generic or habitual situation, which is characteristic of middle constructions in English; but also, according to González Romero’s (1996) “Construcciones medias en inglés y en español”, verbs such as “build” can appear in middle constructions denoting accomplishments, events with limited duration, such as in sentence “b”.

sentence a. This could only be considered a non-canonical middle, for what it points to is a specific individual, not a class or type of individuals. However, the rest of your analysis on it is OK. See, and make it explicit in your justification, that what is employed here is middle voice, which, non-canonically, could be extended into a middle construction interpretation.
re: sentence b. This is not correct, for the situation of "building" here is not limited in duration. Sentence b is, in fact, not possible in English. Consider that what is at stake is neither a spontaneous event nor the stativization of a situation. Therefore, for this sentence to be grammatical here, participial passive voice ought to be employed (i.e., it should have been "it was built well").


]]> 2020-10-10 13:42:39 UTC https://padlet.com/grcontrastiva/dt9iw2mvsvf71yap/wish/818607471