Thanks Dick and Craig--great answers as always.  You guys and ATEG continue
to be a great resource!
John


On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 9:15 AM, Hancock, Craig G <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

>  John,****
>
>     For fairly extensive coverage of this, see Halliday and Matthiessen,
> An Introduction to Functional Grammar, 3rd edition, roughly pages
> 287-290. ****
>
>    This is probably a frame of reference not shared by many on the list.
> But Halliday distinguishes between transitive/intransitive pairs (The
> tourist hunted the lion, the tourist hunted) and non-ergative/ergative
> pairs (Mary cooked the rice for two hours/ The rice cooked for two hours. )
> ****
>
>     I agree with Dick that “the tomatoes grew” would be intransitive
> because the tomatoes are growing of their own volition, which is not true
> of the rice.****
>
>    The nail tore the cloth/ The cloth tore. I spilled the milk/ The milk
> spilled. The sun dried up the fields/ The fields dried up. I broke the
> mirror/ The mirror broke into a hundred pieces. These are
> non-ergative/ergative pairs. ** **
>
>         In each case, the one indispensable element is called the *medium*.
> In these non-ergative/ergative pairs, the medium is capable of being object
> or subject without the clause being passive. ****
>
>    Halliday goes on to say that these are increasingly widespread in
> English and part of a “complex process of semantic change” that, among
> other things, tends to “emphasize the textual function” over the
> “experiential.” That might just be a way of saying that we know full well
> that clothes don’t tear and milk doesn’t spill and fields don’t dry up and
> rice doesn’t cook of their own volition, but we can obscure agency when we
> construct sentences about them. When we say “the tomatoes grew”
> (intransitive) we are calling attention to the fact that tomatoes are
> agents of their own growing. When we say “the rice cooked,” we are
> attending to the rice while  connoting that it is a medium, but not an
> agent  of its own change.****
>
>     I should say, again, that this is the view expressed within systemic
> functional grammar. It probably makes more sense within that framework than
> it would independently.****
>
> ** **
>
> Craig****
>
>    ****
>
> *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Dick Veit
> *Sent:* Thursday, February 28, 2013 8:38 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: I'm Curious****
>
> ** **
>
> John,
>
> This is sometimes called the "passival," where the subject of certain
> active verbs can be used in the progressive as a kind of passive. Other
> examples:****
>
>    - The water is boiling. [i.e., being boiled]****
>    - The cookies are baking.****
>    - The laundry is soaking.****
>
> The passival was formerly in general use (The house is building) but is
> now restricted to a few verbs.****
>
> I don't think "growing" is an example of this, since the verb has both
> transitive and intransitive definitions.
>
> Dick****
>
> On Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 7:23 AM, John Crow <[log in to unmask]> wrote:****
>
> What's up with the following pair of sentences?****
>
>    1. The Smiths are selling their furniture.****
>    2. The plants are selling like hotcakes.****
>
>
>    - #1 is obviously a standard present progressive SVO.  Is #2 just an
>    intransitive form of "to sell"?  ****
>    - Are there other examples like this or is this idiosyncratic to
>    "sell"?****
>
> Just thought of another possible candidate:****
>
>    - John is growing cauliflower.****
>    - The cauliflower is growing bigger every day.****
>
> Thanks,****
>
> John****
>
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